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CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



IN 



THE UNITED STATES 



BY 

GEORGE H. MARTIN, A.M. 

SUPERVISOR OF SCHOOLS, BOSTON 



REVISED EDITION 



NEW YORK-:. CINCINNATI-:. CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 


Two Copies Received 

APR 22 1903 

Copyright Entry 
CLASS ft/ XXc. No. 

O **}* 

COPY B. 



Copyright, 1875 and 1889, by 
A. S. BAENES & CO. 

Copyright, 1902, by 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. 

Copyright, 1903, by 

GEORGE H. MARTIN. 






MAR. CIV. GOV. 
W. P. 2 



^ 

^ 



PKEFACE. 



The attention of teachers is invited to the five dis- 
tinctive features of this book : — 

1. Its full statement of principles. A knowledge of 
these principles will be found of value not only in study- 
ing our own institutions, but also in studying ancient 
and modern history. They furnish a standard by 
which to test the various governments that have ex- 
isted, and often explain the influence that those govern- 
ments have exerted. 

2. Its comprehensive plan, embracing the state, county, 
city, and town organizations, as well as that of the 
United States. As every citizen takes part more di- 
rectly in the local administration than in that of the 
general government, he needs to understand the powers 
and relations of the state and municipal governments. 

3. Its historical method. The endeavor has been to 
show not only what our free institutions are, but why 
they are, by tracing their development from germs in 
the early English constitution through the colonial and 
revolutionary periods of our own history. 



4 PREFACE. 

4. Its topical arrangement. The teacher will find 
this a help in assigning lessons ; and the scholar, in 
studying and remembering them. 

5. Its omission of details. A school text-book on 
this subject should not be a compendium of political 
statistics, nor an office-holder's guide, but a citizen's 
manual. 

The features outlined in the foregoing extract from 
the preface to the original edition of this book are re- 
tained in this edition because they have given the book 
its distinctive character and been the cause of its 
success. 

The present edition brings the book up to date 
by embodying all recent constitutional and statutory 
changes, and by selecting illustrations of a timely 
character. 

Any text-book needs to be supplemented by use of 
legislative manuals and reports, municipal registers 
and ordinances, and by such records of public proceed- 
ings as current newspapers furnish. 

The historical portions of the book are intended to 
aid the student in answering the " questions for 
thought" which any wise teacher will propound, but 
which it is not the province of a text-book to supply. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

PRINCIPLES OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

CHAPTER I. PAGE 
Definition of Terms 11 

CHAPTER II. 
Source of Authority in the State 15 

CHAPTER III. 
The Government: Its Functions and Departments ... 19 

CHAPTER IV. 

Forms of Governments, and Means by which they are 
limited 24 

CHAPTER V. 
Obligations of the Government 31 

CHAPTER VI. 
Obligations of the Government, continued .... 40 

CHAPTER VII. 

Nature and Duties of Citizenship 46 

5 



6 CONTENTS. 

PART II. 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE STATES BEFORE THEIR 
INDEPENDENCE. 



CHAPTER VIII. page 

Establishment of Civil, Religious, and Political Liberty 

in England . . . . 55 



CHAPTER IX. 
The Colony of New Plymouth 72 

CHAPTER X. 
The Colony of Massachusetts Bay 81 

CHAPTER XL 

The Colonies of Connecticut and Rhode Island. . , ,91 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Colonies of New Hampshire and Maine .... 99 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The New England Confederacy 106 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Colonies of New York and New Jersey .... Ill 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Colonies of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland . 121 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Southern Colonies . . .• 130 

CHAPTER XVII. 
The Declaration of Independence 140 



CONTENTS. 7 

PART III. 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

CHAPTER XVIII. page 

Formation or the Constitution : The Legislative Depart- 
ment 149 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The Executive Department 162 

CHAPTER XX. 
The Judicial Department . 181 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Counties 199 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Towns 205 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Cities 218 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Elections and Nominations . 223 

PART IV. 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAPTER XXV. 
The History of the Union before the Constitution . . 231 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
The Origin and Objects of the Constitution . . . 241 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVII. page 

The Legislative Department . ' 247 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
The Executive and Judicial Departments .... 255 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
The Powers of Congress 262 

CHAPTER XXX. 
The Powers and Duties of the President .... 280 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Provisions respecting States 290 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Relation of National and State Governments . . . 297 



Declaration of Independence . 306 

Constitution of the United States 310 

Index 329 



PART I. 
PRINCIPLES OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED 
STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

DEFINITION OF TERMS. 

The word " govern " is derived from the Latin 

qubernare, meaning to steer, to pilot, and 

+u *■ 'A A' * *- 1 ^r Government. 

then to guide, direct, control. lo govern, 

therefore, is to control, and government is control. 

Thus the divine government is the control exercised 

by the Creator over his creatures. Family government 

is the control exercised by the head of a family over its 

members. School government is the control exercised 

by the teacher over the members of the school. When 

a pilot would guide his vessel from one port to another, 

he must know what courses he may take, he must 

choose one of these, and he must have the means of 

compelling the ship to take this course. These three 

things — intelligence, will, and power — are necessary 

to all control, and therefore to all government. 

When the controlling will expresses its choice, says 

what it would have done, this expression 

becomes a rule of action for the governed, 

to be followed until there is a new and different choice 

11 



12 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

expressed. This expression of the controlling will is a 
law ; and government is control exercised by means of 
the establishment and enforcement of laws. Thus a 
father chooses to have his children rise at a certain 
hour in the morning, and retire at a certain hour in the 
evening. He tells them plainly what he would have 
them do ; and this expression of his will becomes a law 
of the family, and remains so, without a new expres- 
sion, until he chooses to set aside the rule. 

But the mere expression of the will may not insure 
control. The child needs to feel that he 
must obey. This feeling can come only 
when a penalty is connected with disobedience. This 
penalty consists in the infliction of pain in one form or 
another. Thus the father says that the child who dis- 
obeys the rule shall lose a part of his play-hour. But 
saying this will do no good, unless the child is sure 
that the father will do as he says. There must be a 
certainty that the penalty will be inflicted. 

The difference between civil government and the 
others mentioned above is indicated in the 
meaning of the word " civil" This is 
derived from the Latin eivilis, — pertaining to citizens ; 
and a citizen is a member of a state or nation. The 
following definition of a state is nearly complete : * 
" A state is a community of persons living within cer- 
tain limits of territory, under a permanent organiza- 
tion, which aims to secure the prevalence of justice by 
self-imposed laws." Some would insert after "justice," 
" and otherwise promote the common weal." 

If we examine this definition, we see that the state 
does not consist of those who directly exercise power, — 

* Woolsey's International Law. 



DEFINITION OF TERMS. 13 

not the king, not Congress, not those who vote, — but 
all the people, a community. The definition excludes 
wandering tribes of men, and all corporations, which 
have no limits of territory, and whose object is not 
justice. 

If all the laws of the state are self-imposed, that is, if 
there is no power outside its body of peo- 
ple which dictates to it in any way, the 
state is said to be sovereign. This word does not admit 
of comparison : one state cannot be more sovereign 
than another ; and a small state, in this respect, stands 
on an equality with a large one. The sovereignty of a 
state consists in the absolute right to control its own 
members, and in the absolute right to resist any inter- 
ference in its affairs by any other state. The first of 
these rights constitutes its internal sovereignty ; the 
second, its external sovereignty. From these state- 
ments it will be seen that Boston is not a state, that 
Massachusetts is not a sovereign state. The United 
States is a sovereign state or nation. Great Britain 
and Russia are both sovereign states. 

Having now defined a state, we are prepared to 
define civil government as control by law exercised by 
the state over its members as such. 

SUMMARY. 

1. Government is control. 

2. Intelligence, will, and power are necessary to gov- 
ernment. 

3. Laws are expressions of the controlling will, which 
become rules of action for the governed. 

4. A law, to secure control, must be accompanied 
by a penalty, and a certainty that the penalty will be 
inflicted. 



14 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 



5. A state is a community of persons living within 
certain limits of territory, under a permanent organiza- 
tion, which aims to secure the prevalence of justice by 
self-imposed laws. 

6. A sovereign state is one in which all the laws are 
self-imposed. 

7. Civil government is control by law, exercised by 
a state over its members. 



CHAPTER n. 

SOURCE OF AUTHORITY IN THE STATE. 

The question naturally arises, What right has the 
state to control me ? Why may not I do as I please ? 
To answer this question, we must learn how the state 
comes to exist. 

The members of the state are human beings, and 
they are, therefore, social beings. They Necessity of 
are created with a nature which only the Society, 
society of fellow-beings can satisfy. They are made to 
love and hate and fear ; and they must have those near 
them upon whom to exercise these feelings. They 
have thoughts, and language to express them ; and 
they must be with those who can understand their lan- 
guage, and respond to their thoughts. 

If a man lives alone, all these human faculties become 
dwarfed and stunted for want of exercise ; and he is 
not so much of a man as he might have been. All 
experience shows that the highest degree of manhood 
can be attained only in society, and that out of it man 
grows brutish. A life of solitude, like that of a hermit, 
always seems unnatural and undesirable. There are 
stories of human beings who have been exposed in 
infancy, and have grown up among the brutes ; and they 
are found to have lost the human likeness. They walk 

15 



16 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

upon their hands and feet ; their language consists of 
inarticulate cries and noises ; they are afraid of men. 
Instead of human reason, they have only the instinct 
of the brute. Centuries ago, Aristotle wrote, " Who- 
ever lives voluntarily out of civil society must have a 
vicious disposition, or be an existence superior to man." 
Society, then, is a necessity to man, both for his preser- 
vation and for his happiness. 

But there are two causes, either of which would make 
Government society a failure. Men are selfish, as well as 
a Necessity. social. Every man has a disposition, more 
or less strong, to have his own way; and these ways 
necessarily conflict with each other. If the strongest 
should succeed, the weak would suffer. Hence quarrels 
would arise, and society would become a scene of strife 
and confusion ; and the very thing which was designed 
to preserve human life, and be a means of good to men, 
would come to be a source of evil. 

When men come together in society, they have com- 
mon wants, which they cannot satisfy as individuals. 
For instance, the common defence must be provided for ; 
roads and bridges must be built ; money must be coined. 
Men are not only selfish, but they differ in ability to judge 
wisely ; and it would be impossible for all to agree as 
to the best time and way of doing these things. They 
would, therefore, remain undone. 

To remedy these two evils, society must organize 
itself permanently, first, to control the evil inclined and 
protect the weak; and then to devise and carry out 
plans for the common necessity and convenience. 
Society so organized is a state, and the control which it 
exercises is civil government. The origin of this is 
evident. It is a necessity of society, and society is a 
necessity of man's nature. 



SOURCE OF AUTHORITY IK THE STATE. 17 

We are now prepared to answer the question as to the 
authority of the state. Since civil govern- Authority 

ment is necessary in order that the ends from God. 

for which society exists may be secured, and since these 
ends are determined by the nature of man as created, it 
follows that government comes from God, and that the 
state derives its authority from him. 

Men in society find themselves under a law of their 

nature which bids them organize and 

A , -, , , Duty of Society, 

govern. As m every other case, they are 

free to obey or disobey, being answerable only to God, 

who has made the law. But if they disobey they suffer 

the consequences. They have no security for life and 

property ; virtue and intelligence are wanting ; vice and 

crime prevail : in a word, they are savages ; and sooner 

or later they become the prey of some society which has 

better fulfilled the end of its creation. All history is 

full of illustrations of this truth. Our own Indian 

tribes bear witness that men cannot violate this first 

duty of society with impunity. 

Government, therefore, is a trust committed to society 

by the Creator ; and society must not only Government a 

accept the trust, but it is responsible for Trust. 

the way in which it executes it. It is in duty bound 

to have the best possible government ; though what 

this shall be, it may determine for itself. 

summary. 

1. Men are social beings ; therefore society is a neces- 
sity. 

2. Men are selfish, and differ in opinion ; therefore 
government is necessary. 



18 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

3. The state derives its authority from God. 

4. Society is under a law requiring it to establish 
government. 

5. Civil government is a trust for which society is 
responsible to God. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE GOVERNMENT : ITS FUNCTIONS AND DEPART- 
MENTS. 

In the preceding chapter, we have seen that govern- 
ment is a trust committed to the state. The object of 
the present chapter is to show by what agencies the 
state fulfils this trust. In all cases society vests its 
powers in a portion of its members. 

Those persons, more or less numerous, who directly 
exercise control over the members of the The Govera- 
state, constitute the government thereof. ment< 
Thus, in the United States, the President and all offi- 
cers under his control, Congress, and the courts of 
justice, together form the government. 

It is necessary to fix carefully in the mind the dis- 
tinction between the state and the govern- 
or £ • j_i i i i i i? Distinction *be- 

ment. lne iormer is the whole body of tweentheGov- 
people organized for the purpose of con- eminent and 
trol ; the latter is that part of the whole 
body through which the control is exercised. The state 
is supreme: the government is subordinate. The right 
to control rests primarily with the state; secondarily, 
with the government. All powers belong to the state, 
being given by the Creator : whatever power the govern- 
ment may have it receives from the state. The govern- 
ment may change : the state remains. 



20 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The state is responsible to God ; the government, to 
the state. This is the meaning of the expression in the 
Declaration of Independence, that governments derive 
their just powers from the consent of the governed. 

As to the way in which they have come to possess 
Authority how these powers, governments may be divided 
obtained. m t two classes: first, those to which the 

people have made formal grants of specified and limited 
authority; second, those which hold their powers by 
the tacit consent of the state. It is probable, that, in 
the early history of the world, all governments were of 
the latter class. Sometimes a single man, having, in 
a superior degree, the elements of control, physical 
strength and skill, courage, and sagacity, came to be 
recognized by a simple pastoral people as having au- 
thority over them. He became their leader in war, and 
their judge in times of peace. It was likely that his chil- 
dren would share with him the respect and confidence of 
the people, and in their turn become rulers. Thus, in 
a simple way, hereditary kingship would come to exist. 

In many cases, power has been seized by force, and 
the people, finding resistance useless, have yielded to 
the usurpation. Succeeding generations have forgotten 
that the government was not legitimate, and have suf- 
fered its authority to be unquestioned. 

There are many states now existing, in which this 
process has been going on for hundreds and thousands 
of years ; one individual after another assuming control, 
until the people fail to recognize their own rights and 
their own responsibility. Such are Russia, Turkey, and 
the states of Asia. Most of the governments of Europe, 
and all those of America, are illustrations of the first 



ITS FUNCTIONS AND DEPARTMENTS. 21 

Since to govern is to control by law, the functions of 
the government are, to make laws, to in- Functions and 
terpret and apply them, and to execute Departments, 
them ; and these functions call for three departments, 
— legislative, judicial, and executive. 

The relation of these departments to each other may 
be shown by an illustration. The legisla- Relation of De- 
tive department may make a law saying that P artments - 
no person shall pasture his own cattle on another man's 
land, and affix a penalty thereto. John Smith is accused 
of pasturing his horse in his neighbor's field, and thereby 
violating law. Justice requires, that, if guilty, he shall 
be punished. The question of his guilt is decided by the 
judicial department. He is brought before a court, 
where he may deny the act charged, or, admitting it, 
plead that the word " cattle " in the law does not include 
horses. In the latter case, the first business of the court 
is to explain the law. If the decision is that horses are 
cattle, the act charged being admitted, then the law 
applies to Smith, and the penalty must be inflicted. A 
mandate is issued by the court to an executive officer, who 
proceeds to carry out the sentence by imprisoning the 
man, or by collecting money from him as a fine. 

This case may be used to illustrate another most im- 
portant principle. After the court has decided that the 
word "cattle" includes horses, it becomes a law that 
no man shah pasture his horse on another's land. If a 
similar case arises, it is only necessary to refer to this 
decision ; it becomes a precedent for judgment. 

Thus it appears that the courts of justice are all 
the time making law. In fact, much the Laws made 
larger part of all the rules and principles b y Courts. 



22 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

that guide the administration of justice in any state is 

established, not by the legislative department, but by 

the judiciary. 

This difference in origin gives rise to a division of law 

into two great departments, — statute law, and law that 

is not statute, included by writers on the subject under 

the term unwritten law. 

Statute law includes all enactments made by legis- 
lative bodies, and promulgated by them 

Statute Law. , r™ n i j» ,- 

as laws, lnese are tormed irom time 

to time, as circumstances make them necessary. In 

process of time some become useless, and are repealed, 

or changed, or they remain on the statute-book without 

force. In order to simplify this mass of laws, they are 

sometimes revised, arranged in a systematic form, and 

adopted in a body, as comprising all the statute law in 

force at the time. The so-called Public Statutes of 

Massachusetts and other States are illustrations of this 

process. 

The unwritten law consists of all those judicial deci- 
TheTTnwrit- sions which have become authoritative 
ten Law. through all the periods of the nation's 

history. This branch of law is a gradual growth, keep- 
ing pace with the development of the people's civiliza- 
tion. 

As new relations come to exist in society, new cases 
are constantly coming before the courts for adjustment. 
In the absence of statutes, the courts must establish 
principles, which come to have all the force of laws. 
The chief difference between them and statutes is, that 
the legislative department may at any time make laws 
which shall set them aside. Statutes covering the 
same ground are always superior to the unwritten law. 



ITS FUNCTIONS AND DEPARTMENTS. 23 

The term " common law," as used in England and 
the United States, includes all that por- 
tion of the unwritten law of England that 
has not been set aside by statutes, or by more recent 
decisions. 

SUMMARY. 

1. The government of a state consists of those mem- 
bers who directly exercise control within it. 

2. The government is subordinate to the state, re- 
ceiving its authority from it, and being responsible to it. 

3. Governments have derived their authority from 
the state in two ways : first, by formal grants ; second, 
by tacit consent. 

4. There are three departments of government : the 
legislative, which makes the laws ; the judicial, which 
interprets and applies them ; the executive, which puts 
them into operation. 

5. Laws are made by the courts of justice, as well as 
by the legislature. 

6. Laws made by the legislature are called statutes ; 
all others are included in the term " the unwritten 
law." 



CHAPTER IV. 

FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS, AND MEANS BY WHICH 
THEY ARE LIMITED. 

The following forms of governments have been 
described by writers upon the subject : — 

An Absolute Monarchy is a government in which the 
Absolute laws are made by one person, and inter- 

Monarchy, preted and executed by officers responsible 

only to him. Examples : Russia, Turkey, Persia. 

A Limited Monarchy is a government in which there 
Limited Mon- i s an hereditary executive, and a legislative 
archy. department whose members are chosen 

periodically by the people, the judiciary being responsi- 
ble directly to the sovereign. Examples: England, 
Sweden and Norway, Denmark. Rarely, in such gov- 
ernments, the sovereign is elected. 

A Representative Democracy, or Republic, is a gov- 
ernment in which both the chief executive 
epu 1C ' and the members of the legislative depart- 

ment are chosen periodically by the people. The judi- 
ciary may be appointed by the executive, or be elected 
by the people. Examples : United States, Mexico, States 
of Central America. 

A government in which the whole body of people 
meet to make the laws is sometimes called 
a Pure Democracy. This is possible only 

24 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS. 25 

in a small state. The government of some of the early 
English colonies in America Avas of this sort. 

There have been states in which all the functions 

of government were in the hands of a few 

° , ,« . , -, c , Other Forms, 

people, self-appointed, ouch a govern- 
ment is an Oligarchy. If a class of nobles rules the 
state, the government is called an Aristocracy. 

Some governments combine several different features. 
Thus, in the government of England, the executive 
department represents the monarchy. The legislative 
department consists of two bodies, one aristocratic, the 
other republican. In most states, the legislature con- 
sists of two bodies ; in others, of one. 

These various forms may be divided into two classes, 
— absolute, and limited. In a certain Absolute Gov- 
sense, no government now existing is ernments. 
really absolute. In all so called absolute governments 
there are immemorial customs which restrict the sov- 
ereign in the exercise of power, and each ruler follows in 
the steps of his predecessor. If his people are at all 
intelligent, he will not dare to make radical changes. 
But there is no way to call him to account except by re- 
bellion, and history shows that nations will submit to 
oppression for a long period rather than take up arms 
against the established government. 

An absolute government may furnish civil liberty to 
its subjects, and may do much to promote their happi- 
ness ; but, at any time, a different man may come into 
power, and anarchy or oppression ensue. There is 
no security beyond the present. For this reason, such 
a government cannot be, in the highest sense, a good 
one, though it may be the best possible under the cir- 
cumstances: indeed, it may be the only form possible 
over a rude, lawless people. 



26 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Since the possession of power creates a desire for 

more, the tendency of all governments is 
Constitutions. r ., , T . , 

awa}^ irom the people. It becomes neces- 
sary for a state which values its welfare, to impose some 
restraints upon its government. It must express its 
will definitely, and hold the government answerable as 
subject to law. This law by which the state controls 
the government is its constitution. It usually specifies 
the rights of the people, which the government is to 
respect; states how the departments shall be constituted, 
thus fixing the form of the government ; enumerates in 
detail the functions of each ; provides a mode of calling 
the government to account, and of making needed 
changes ; prescribes the manner in which the will of 
the state shall be expressed ; and makes provision for 
changing the constitution itself. 

Thus the constitution of the United States asserts the 
rights of the people ; says that there shall be a Presi- 
dent, a Congress of two houses, and certain courts of 
justice ; gives to the President power to pardon, to act 
as commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and to 
execute the laws ; gives Congress powers over finance, 
territory, and commerce ; fixes the term of office of all 
members of the government ; states who shall vote, 
and how the constitution may be amended. 

It will be seen that the constitution becomes the 
fundamental law of a state, and that all others must 
accord with it. If they do not, they are void. This 
question of constitutionality of laws is usually decided 
by the judicial department, never by the citizen. 

Constitutions are of two kinds. Some are written 
Written Con- instruments drawn up and adopted at one 
etitutions. time, either by the people for themselves 



i 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS. 27 

when establishing a new form of government, as in the 
United States ; or by the existing government, as in the 
case of Austria, which, after the exercise of arbitrary 
power, wished to conciliate the discontented people of 
Hungary. 

Others are unwritten, having no distinct, definite 
form, but consisting of all legislative acts, unwritten Con- 
royal grants, and judicial decisions, by stitutions. 
w r hich at any time the form of the government has been 
established, and by which the rights of the people are 
guaranteed, and the powers of the government restricted. 
Such is the British constitution, which has been growing 
into its present form for a thousand years. It bears the 
marks of all the social and political changes which have 
succeeded each other during the rule of Saxon, Norman, 
and English sovereigns. In another place the develop- 
ment of this constitution will be noticed. 

The unwritten constitution is open to the objection 
that it may be changed by the government itself, and 
thus cease to express the people's will. Thus a certain 
parliament changed its term of office from three to 
seven years, thereby prolonging its power, and prevent- 
ing a new expression of the people's will. In the 
United States, with its written constitution, such a 
change could only be made by the people. 

How shall the government be made to obey the con- 
stitution, so that it may be effective to pre- checks upon the 
vent arbitrary rule ? This is done in two Government. 
wa}'s. Usually, the departments are so constituted that 
each acts as a check upon the other. Thus in the United 
States, the President must approve all bills passed by a 
majority in Congress, before they can become laws. 
The Senate must consent to all treaties, and to all im- 
portant appointments made by the President. Without 



28 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

such consent they are not valid. The judges are ap- 
pointed by the President and Senate, and they decide 
upon the constitutionality of laws made by Congress. 
If either branch of the government attempts to violate 
the constitution, the others may in this way prevent it. 

But the most effective way of preventing the exercise 
limitation of 0I * unconstitutional authority is by limit- 
Term. i n g t^ term of office of the members of 
the government. At the expiration of a specified time, 
the office becomes vacant, and the people are called 
upon to re-fill it. They may re-appoint the former in- 
cumbent. This is a verdict of approval of his adminis- 
tration. If they select a new man, the act may imply 
dissatisfaction. When the people have this power of 
changing the government at their will, it becomes im- 
possible for any usurpation of authority to continue. It 
is only when men may be re-elected to the same office 
that this limitation of term becomes a salutary check. 
If they must give up the position, whether faithful or 
not, the temptation is strong to use it for selfish ends. 
The election ceases to be a popular judgment upon the 
character of the administration. For this reason, the 
principle of rotation in office is one of the most mischiev- 
ous that can guide the action of an intelligent people. 

We have described a constitution as a formal expres- 
Expression of s i° n of the will of the state, granting au- 
Popular Will, thority to the government; and we have 
also said that under limited governments the state is 
frequently called upon to pass judgment upon the ad- 
ministration. It is important to show how the state 
expresses its will. What is the voice of the people ? 

The whole body of people comprising the state in- 
cludes some who are not capable of judging wisely 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS. 29 

concerning the general good; to this class evidently 
belong children and imbeciles. Every state is therefore 
divided into two classes, — those who have Voters and 
a voice in public affairs, and those who Non-Voters, 
have not ; the voting, and the non-voting. The line 
of division varies greatly in different states. In most 
women are included in the latter class. Sometimes 
color is made a ground of disqualification for voting, 
sometimes poverty, sometimes a certain form of reli- 
gious belief, sometimes the inability to read and write. 
In all cases those who do vote decide who may vote. In 
every state, for the non-voting class the government is 
absolute ; they are responsible for it only on the ground 
of tacit consent. Those who have a voice in the con- 
duct of public affairs are said to have political liberty. 

Voting is expressing a choice ; and it seldom hap- 
pens that a large number of people are Majority 
unanimous in their opinions. In case of Rule - 
disagreement, either the few or the many must give up 
to the others, or there will be no decision. Justice 
requires that the will of the smaller number shall sub- 
mit to that of the larger. Hence the common rule that 
the majority decides. 

It appears, therefore, that, when we speak of an 
election as expressing the will of the state, we mean 
that it is the choice of more than half of the voting 
population, submitted to by all the others. This sup- 
poses that all persons vote who can do so, which is far 
from being the case. Thus in one State the returns of 
one election were as follows : — 

Population 1,651,652 

Voting class 351,056 

Votes for successful candidate for governor . . . 83,639 

1 



30 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

It appears that only one in twenty of the members of 
the State actually expressed a preference for the gov- 
ernor chosen in that year. In other years a larger 
proportion of the voters had voted, but seldom more 
than one in eight of the members of the State. Many 
schemes have been devised by which the minority may 
also be represented, but none have come into general 
use. 

SUMMARY. 

1. The forms of government that have existed are, 
absolute monarchy, limited monarchy, republic, democ- 
racy, aristocracy, oligarchy. 

2. Absolute governments are restricted by custom, 
but cannot be called to account except by rebellion. 

3. A constitution is a law by which the state controls 
the government. 

4. The constitution is the fundamental law, and all 
others must accord with it. 

5. Some constitutions are written instruments ; others 
are without definite form. 

6. The departments of a government should be able 
to check one another. 

7. The authority of government is limited by limit- 
ing the term of service of its members. 

8. The whole body of people in the state is divided 
into voters and non-voters. 

9. The voice of a majority of those who vote is con- 
sidered to express the will of the state. 

10. This is usually a very small part of the whole 
body. 



CHAPTER V. 

OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

"We have seen that the people commit to a part of 
their number their authority, to be used for the com- 
mon good. We have now to examine this trust in 
detail, and ascertain what a government should do to 
be a good one. 

Its several obligations may be classified in three divi- 
sions : first, to secure justice to the mem- 
bers of the state ; second, to promote the 
general welfare ; third, to defend the state. 

In order to secure justice, it is the duty of the gov- 
ernment to protect every individual, with- justice, how 
out distinction, in the enjoyment of his secured, 
natural rights. These rights are included under four 
heads, — the right of personal security, the right of 
personal liberty, the right of private property, and the 
right of religious belief and worship. 

The Right of Personal Security is the right to enjoy 
life, body, health, and reputation. It personal Seen- 
means not merely the right to live, but to rit y- 
live in safety and tranquillity, without fear and without 
the necessity for self-defence. No greater reproach can 
be brought against a state than to say that human life is 
not secure within its territory. When deeds of vio- 

31 



32 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

lence and blood are frequent and unpunished, the 
government fails to meet its first great duty. 

Life is rendered more secure by making murder the 
Modes of Making highest crime known to the law, and pun- 
Life Secure. ishable by death. If the penalty for homi- 
cide were no greater than for theft, murder would be 
much more frequent than now. The government shows 
its regard for the safety of human life and limb by 
the care with which it investigates all cases of loss 
of life from doubtful causes. If a human body is 
found under circumstances which make it 
probable that a crime has been committed, 
an officer, under the authority of the government, at 
once proceeds to an inquiry, to learn the cause of 
death, that the guilty party, if there be such, may be 
brought to justice. If a railroad accident has occa- 
sioned loss of life, an inquest is held to ascertain the 
cause of the disaster, and to fix the responsibility, so 
that justice may be done. 

The government also compels corporations to take pre- 
Security of cautions for the safety of their own em- 

Travellers, ployees, and of the public whom they serve. 

Thus railway companies are obliged to have bells on 
locomotives, and to have them rung at highway cross- 
ings, to place signs over such crossings, and to station 
flagmen at some of them, to stop their trains before 
crossing another railroad, to provide a certain number 
of brakemen for each passenger train. Owners of 
steamboats are required to equip them with boats, 
buckets, life-preservers, and all appliances by which the 
safety of passengers may be promoted. 

The government maintains buoys and lighthouses, 
and removes obstructions from harbors and rivers for the 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVEKNMENT. 33 

safety of mariners. It prohibits fast driving in public 
streets, and stations officers to assist foot-passengers over 
crossings. All these provisions have the same general 
end. 

Nor is a good government any less mindful of the 
health of the people. It takes precautions Modes of Secur- 
to prevent the spread of contagious clis- in S Health, 
eases. It appoints officers whose business it is to 
require cleanliness in cities ; and it may cause filthy, 
overcrowded, or unsafe houses to be vacated. It 
restricts the sale of poisons, prohibits the sale of un- 
wholesome food, and requires certain kinds of business 
— as powder-making and bone-boiling — to be carried 
on at a distance from habitations. It supports hospi- 
tals and asylums for the comfort and recovery of the 
sick. 

Next to life, honest men value reputation. Every per- 
son has a right to be thought as well of as 
his character will allow. Therefore he may 
demand protection against all false and malicious ut- 
terances which tend to destroy his peace or to injure 
his business. Such utterances, if spoken, constitute 
slander, and, if written or printed, libel ; and both 
should be punished by the government. 

The Right of Personal Liberty is, primarily, the right 
to go and come without restraint ; but personal Lib- 
its meaning has been extended to cover ert y- 
freedom of speech and of the press, the right to as- 
semble peaceably for discussion, the right to petition 
the government, and freedom from unreasonable search 
of property and papers. It is only within two hundred 
years that these last have been considered natural 
rights, and still in many states they are not allowed. 



34: CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The most important means by which personal liberty 

„ _ is directly secured to the subject is the writ 

Habeas Corpus. J J 

of habeas corpus. This is a written instru- 
ment issued by a judge or court, directed to a person 
holding another in custody, commanding him to bring 
the prisoner before the judge or court at a certain time 
and place, to show why he holds him. How this operates 
may be shown by illustrations. A minor enlisted in the 
United States army without the consent of his parents 
or guardian, an act which was contrary to law. A judge 
issued a writ of habeas corpus to the commanding officer, 
who, in obedience to the summons, brought the boy 
before the court, and stated the manner of enlistment. 
The judge discharged the boy. A girl about fourteen 
years of age had been bound to service in Canada. The 
man whom she served went with her to Massachusetts, 
where her mother obtained a writ of habeas corpus to 
recover the child. The man appeared before the court 
with the child, where it was made apparent that she was 
well treated, and that she preferred to remain with her 
master. The court refused to give her to the mother. 
In Boston the sheriff had arrested and imprisoned a man 
in consequence of a suit concerning a partnership in 
which he was interested. His friends procured a writ of 
habeas corpus ; being brought before the court, and his 
case heard, he was discharged, on the ground that the 
circumstances were such that imprisonment was illegal. 

Since the officers of the law may thus arrest and de- 
tain persons without sufficient cause, and so the govern- 
ment itself infringe upon the liberty of its subjects, the 
privilege of demanding this writ is considered one of the 
strongest safeguards that a people can have. More 






OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 35 

than any other one thing this marks the distinction 
between a free government and a despotism, and to 
withdraw it is always perilous to the liberties of the 
people. 

The Right of Private Property covers the acquiring, 
using, and disposing of any thing that a x&ght f Pri- 
person may call his own, including time vate Property, 
and labor. This right may be violated in so many 
ways that the government has more call to exercise its 
control in this direction than in all others combined. 
A man's property may be stolen, or burned, or damaged, 
or taken from him on false pretences, or borrowed and 
not returned. His wages, or his interest, or his rents, 
may not be paid ; and, if he succeed in holding his own 
while he lives, at his death it may be scattered beyond 
his control. Against all these evils it is the duty of 
the government to protect every member of the state. 
It must guard his right to labor, against all who from 
any motive would hinder him ; and it must carry out 
his will as to the disposition of his property after his 
death. That this general right may be secured, laws 
are made respecting theft, arson, and fraud ; concern- 
ing corporations, and the relations of debtor and cred- 
itor, master and servant, landlord and tenant ; laws 
regulating tenures, deeds and wills; usury and tres- 
pass laws ; and laws respecting stocks, bonds, and 
notes. 

Religious liberty, as understood by the people of the 
United States, is the right of every indi- Religious 

vidual to hold such form of religious belief Liberty, 

as he chooses, or to have none at all, and to worship as 
he pleases, or not at all. The government is bound to 
treat all forms of belief alike, and to protect each per- 



36 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

son in his own. Practically, by Sunday laws and 
official and judicial oaths, the governments of most of 
the States of the Union recognize Christianity ; but 
there is no restriction of civil or political rights because 
of any form of belief or unbelief. 

In describing rights as natural, it is meant that they 
Natural are necessary to the fullest development of 

Liberty. the individual. His human nature demands 

them ; and, when free to do so, he instinctively exer- 
cises them. The freedom to do so without any restraint 
is sometimes described as natural liberty. This is sup- 
posed to represent the condition of men without society, 
each person gratifying his inclinations to the fullest 
extent. 

But, since every man is born into society, he is 
Natural Eights hedged about on all sides by limitations 
Limited. to these natural rights. Natural liberty is 

only an idea. A man may do as he pleases in any direc- 
tion, only as far as he does not interfere with the right 
of another man in the same direction. Each separate 
right that has been spoken of is limited at just this 
point. I have a right to walk ; but I may not walk 
over my neighbor's field nor through his house without 
leave. I have a right to acquire, use, and dispose of 
property and time ; but I cannot get money by fraud, 
nor keep what I find, nor burn my house, nor spend 
my time in idleness as a vagabond. I have a right to 
speak freely upon any subject I choose ; but I cannot 
utter slander with impunity. I have a right to worship 
God without restraint according to the dictates of my 
own conscience ; but I may not practise a religion 
whose rights are obscene or cruel. 

These natural rights are also limited in another direc- 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 37 

tion. While it is the duty of the government to pro-' 
tect the individual in the enjoyment of his property, it 
may compel him to give up a portion of it for the pub- 
lic good. This right of the government, thus limiting 
that of the subject, exists in two forms : first, as the 
right of taxation ; second, as the right of r^ of Taxa . 
eminent domain. The first is based on the tion ' 
facts, that the administration of government is for the 
general good, and that whatever benefits the whole bene- 
fits each member of society. Hence the government 
may require each to bear his proportionate share of the 
public expense. If he refuses to do this, his property 
may be sold for the purpose. 

Upon this subject Chief Justice Marshall says, " The 
power of taxing the people and their property is essen- 
tial to the very existence of government, and may be 
legitimately exercised on the objects to which it is 
applicable, to the utmost extent to which the govern- 
ment may choose to carry it." 

The Right of Eminent Domain allows the govern- 
ment to take the private property of an Right of Emi- 
individual, and use it for the public good, nent Domain. 
Thus, if a schoolhouse is to be built, the government 
may choose a site, and then compel the owner to give 
up the land for the purpose. This right differs from 
that of taxation in that it is exercised upon some indi- 
viduals, and not upon all ; and also in that compensation 
is rendered for the property taken, the price being fixed 
by disinterested persons chosen for the purpose. The 
government frequently exercises this right through corpo- 
rations. Thus railway companies are allowed to take 
the land they need along a specified route. 

It thus appears that personal rights are limited in 



88 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

two directions, — first, by the rights of one's neighbors; 
second, by the necessities of the state itself. The 
free enjoyment of one's natural rights, subject to these 

two limitations, constitutes civil liberty. 

It is liberty under law ; and we are pre- 
pared to state, as the first requisite of a good govern- 
ment, that it shall furnish this to every member of the 
state. 

But these rights are not only limited : they may be 
Forfeiture of forfeited. When a man, in the exercise 
Rights. f hi s freedom, has violated the right of 

another, he has become an enemy to the state ; and gov- 
ernment, to protect society, may take away his personal 
liberty by imprisonment, or his property by fine, or 
even his life. 

SUMMARY. 

1. The duties of the government are, to secure 
justice, to promote the general welfare, to defend the 
state. 

2. Justice is secured by protecting every individual 
in his right to personal security, personal liberty, pri- 
vate property, and his own religious belief and worship. 

3. It is the duty of government to care for the life, 
health, and reputation of its subjects. 

4. Personal liberty is freedom to go and come, to 
assemble peaceably for discussion, to petition the gov- 
ernment, and freedom of speech and of the press. 

5. Personal liberty is secured by means of the writ 
of habeas corpus. 

6. The right of private property covers the acquiring, 
using, and disposing of property, time, and labor. 

7. These are called natural rights because every man 
instinctively exercises them. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 39 

8. They are limited in society, first, by a regard to 
the right of others ; second, by the right of the gov- 
ernment to take property for public purposes. 

9. This right of the government exists as the right 
of taxation, and the right of eminent domain. 

10. Civil liberty is the enjoyment of one's natural 
rights in society. It is liberty under law. 

11. These rights may be forfeited by the commission 
of crime. 



CHAPTER VI. 

OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT (CONTINUED). 

In securing justice, the government is taking the 
Promotion of ^est P oss ^^ e means to promote the public 
General Wei- happiness and improvement. Civil liberty 
is the ground of national prosperity. In 
states where anarchy and misrule have long prevailed, 
the people are poor, and the country is unproductive. 

Yet there are means by which the government may 
Measures of ac ^ more directly to this end. Among 
Public utility, these are, educating the people, and car- 
rying out measures of public utility and convenience. 
The most obvious of these are the establishment of 
means of communication, as roads and bridges, postal 
arrangements, and the coining of money. In all these, 
that uniformity which is so necessary can only be 
secured by having the government assume the control. 

The government can do much to foster the industries 
Fostering of the nation. Thus the United States, in 

Industries. the interest of commerce, surveys its coast, 
provides maps and charts, clears its rivers and harbors, 
builds breakwaters, enacts pilotage laws, prepares and 
publishes weather reports, and sends its officers and 
ships of war to foreign ports to protect its seamen. It 

40 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 41 

promotes agriculture by maintaining experiment sta- 
tions to test whether the productions of other countries 
might not be raised in the United States, by collecting 
and scattering new seeds and plants, and by disseminat- 
ing information of new and improved modes of carry- 
ing on the business. It has given bounties to persons 
engaged in certain kinds of fishing. It aims to encour- 
age manufactures by placing duties upon foreign goods, 
so that home productions may have an advantage in the 
market. It has given lands and money to aid in build- 
ing railroads and canals, and in establishing steamship 
lines to foreign ports. It maintains a bureau of for- 
estry to gather and disseminate information as to the 
best management, use, and preservation of woodlands, 
so that lumbering may be continued without the destruc- 
tion of the forests. 

The duty of the government to provide for the edu- 
cation of the people rests upon the same 
basis as its obligations to care for the pub- 
lic health and public morals. Ignorance is so fruitful a 
source of poverty and crime, that the government is 
striking at the root of many evils when it labors to 
promote the general intelligence of the community. It 
is bound, therefore, to provide the rudiments of an 
education for all the children under its authority. 
Beyond this the best governments furnish opportunities 
to all who desire a higher culture, not only intellectual, 
but in professional and industrial pursuits. 

If the government is bound to furnish schools for its 
youth, it is also bound to compel their attendance. It 
should not allow the carelessness or avarice of parents 
to deprive their children of what is so essential to their 
welfare and happiness. 



42 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

There are other and stronger reasons why a demo- 
cratic republic should encourage popular 
tioninRepub- education. All the interests of the state 
are directly in the hands of the mass of 
the people. The officers are chosen by the people and 
from the people. What the voters are, the govern- 
ment will be. The ignorance and vice that prevail 
among the people will be represented in the govern- 
ment, as surely as the intelligence and the virtue. A 
corrupt public sentiment produces corrupt legislation 
and corrupt administration; and these produce weak- 
ness and decay. Hence the interests of every citizen 
are, in a measure, in the hands of every other citizen ; 
and to protect himself he must use all his influence 
to make his neighbor as intelligent and virtuous as 
himself. The education needs to be not only intel- 
lectual, but moral and religious. All that the statutes 
of Massachusetts require is needed in every republic. 
That state makes it the duty of all instructors of youth, 
to exert their best endeavors to impress upon the minds 
of their pupils " the principles of piety and justice, and 
a sacred regard for truth ; love of their country, 
humanity, and universal benevolence ; sobriety, indus- 
try, and frugality ; chastity, moderation, and temper- 
ance ; and those other virtues which are the ornament 
of human society, and the basis upon which a republican 
constitution is founded." 

There are some educating influences besides schools. 
Public libraries, museums, and galleries of 
' art do much to promote the general intel- 
ligence, and to refine and cultivate the taste. Public 
parks and gardens furnish means of healthful and inno- 
cent enjoyment. It may seem that these are outside 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 43 

the province of government, and that it should not tax 
the people for such purposes. But experience has shown 
that cultivated minds and hearts, and refined tastes, 
result in softened manners ; that educated people 
understand better their relations and obligations in 
society, and have more respect for law and order, than 
the ignorant ; and that from the lowest motive, econ- 
omy, it is better to prevent crime than to punish it. 

The third comprehensive duty of the government is to 
defend the state against foreign and domes- D e f ence f tne 
tic enemies. In doing this, it is to be prompt stat< >- 
and vigorous; and it may make use of all the resources 
of the state. There can be no limitations upon its 
authority in this direction. The existence of the state 
is so important that all ordinary considerations of econ- 
omy become insignificant. The government may draw 
upon the wealth of the people to exhaustion; and it 
may demand their personal services and their lives, 
until resistance becomes useless. It may suspend all its 
ordinary operations in an extremity. But all this sacri- 
fice of money and of human life and happiness is for 
defence, not for aggression. The government has no 
right to involve the state in war simply to increase its 
territory, or to extend its power. 

For, intimately connected with its duty to protect the 
state, is its obligation to other states. It is international 
bound to respect their right to exist, and Relations, 
to refrain from acts of injustice and oppression. It 
must recognize their sovereignty, and treat them with 
proper courtesy. It must respect the person and prop- 
erty of every member of every other state, and it must 
do all in its power to promote mutual good feeling 
among all the nations. 



44 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

These are called international obligations, and when 
International ^ ormally stated constitute what is called In- 
law, ternational Law. Thus, when Great Britain 
allowed the piratical "Alabama" to sail from her ports 
to destroy the commerce of the United States, she was 
said to violate the law of nations. When Russia, 
Prussia, and Austria divided Poland among themselves, 
they committed the highest crime possible against a 
sovereign state. When the Boxers attacked the 
foreigners residing in China and destroyed their 
property, the Chinese government was responsible for 
the violation of international rights. 

The law of nations differs from all other law in that it 
International * s no ^ the expression of a controlling will. 
Law Peculiar. There is no human authority above that 
of a sovereign state ; so that this law is only a collec- 
tion of rules which nations acknowledge as binding 
upon them in their relations with each other. This law 
is also peculiar in that there is no umpire to settle 
disputes, and no penalty. If a state violates the law of 
nations, the injured party can only obtain redress by 
war, unless the guilty state chooses to make amends in 
some other way. Thus, in the case of China, the Allied 
Powers have by force compelled the payment of a large 
indemnity. The " Alabama " case was submitted to a 
board of arbitration, which decided that Great Britain 
should pay a certain sum for property destroyed 
through her negligence. There is now a permanent 
Court of Arbitration, having its seat at The Hague, the 
capital of Holland, to which nations may submit their 
disputes. The court consists of distinguished jurists 
chosen by the leading nations of the world. It is hoped 
that this court may promote the peace of the world. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 45 

SUMMARY. 

1. By securing justice, the government promotes the 
general welfare. 

2. It does this also by executing measures of public 
utility, and by fostering the industries of the state. 

3. It is the duty of the government to provide for 
the education of the people. 

4. The government may compel children to attend 
school. 

5. The government should care for the general cul- 
ture of the people. 

6. It is a duty of the government to defend the state. 
To do this it may draw without limit upon the wealth 
and the services of the people. 

7. The government is bound to respect the rights of 
other states. 

8. Certain rules are recognized by nations as guiding 
them in their intercourse with each other. These con- 
stitute International Law. 

9. Until recently there has been no mode of effecting 
a final settlement of international disputes but by force. 
Within a few years resort has been had to arbitration. 
There is now a permanent international Court of 
Arbitration. 






CHAPTER VII. 

NATUKE AND DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP. 

The state has been defined as a community of people. 
Citizens and A citizen of a state is a member of this 
Aliens. community, who is entitled to be protected 

by the government in the enjoyment of his civil rights, 
both at home and abroad. A person residing within a 
country, but not a citizen, is an alien. 

There are two classes of citizens, — native and natu- 
ciasses of Citi- ralized. Native citizens are those members 
zens « of the state who were born within its ter- 

ritory, or whose parents were natives. Naturalized 
citizens were once aliens, but have become citizens by 
complying with certain legal requirements. The second 
class have all the civil rights and duties of the first, 
but certain political privileges are sometimes with- 
held. Thus none but native citizens can hold the 
office of President or Vice-President of the United 
States. 

Citizenship, like all other relations, has certain 
duties peculiar to itself. The individual 
' who enjoys the protection of the govern- 
ment is bound to support it. He may do this in part by 
respecting its authority, and by obeying its laws. A 

46 



NATURE AND DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP. 47 

government is strong in proportion as it can command 
the obedience of its subjects. Evasion of 
law is as bad as wilful violation of it ; 
inasmuch as it shows a want of respect, wliich needs 
only to have the fear of punishment removed to 
become disobedience. Every good citizen holds the 
spirit of a law as sacred as the letter. One who 
breaks any law of the state'violates the right of those 
for whose protection the law was made. 

This duty of obedience is limited in one direction. 
When to obey a law of the state would be Conscientious 
to disobey a clearly revealed law of God, Disobedience, 
the obligation to God takes precedence, and the citizen 
is bound to disobey. This is a question of conscience, 
and as such must be decided by each individual for 
himself. But the government may not recognize this 
as a valid excuse for disobedience. If it did so, the 
most unscrupulous would become the most conscien- 
tious. It must treat disobedience as such, and punish 
it accordingly. Nor has a citizen any ground of com- 
plaint. If his respect for the divine government is so 
great, he must also respect the government of the state 
enough to suffer the consequences of his scruples 
willingly. 

Besides the moral support which comes from respect 
and obedience, the citizen is bound to con- pecuniary Sup- 
tribute of his means to meet the necessary P art ' 
expenses of the government. These expenses are in- 
curred for the benefit of all. Every citizen enjoys 
personal security and personal liberty ; and, if he has 
property, that is also protected. For all this, justice 
requires that he shall pay in proportion to his means. 
This obligation is as binding as any between man and 



48 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

man ; and wilful evasion of it is as dishonorable as any 
other form of fraud. 

The citizen is also bound to support the government 
by force of arms. The benefits of govern- 
ment are so many that no sacrifice can be 
considered too great that its safety makes necessary. 
The highest virtue of a citizen utters itself in the 
saying, " It is sweet to die 'for one's country." 

A citizen who meets these obligations cheerfully is a 
patriot. To obey the laws because they 

Patriotism. , , , .,, , 

are laws, to pay one s taxes without 

grumbling, to give up friends or one's own life, if 

necessary — these are the evidences of patriotism. 

Another weighty obligation rests upon the subjects 

of a limited government. Thev are bound 
Duty to Vote. & J 

to vote. 

Voting, or suffrage as it is called, is often spoken of as 
The Right of a right. There is an historical reason for 
Suffrage. this. Ail the limited governments of the 

present day have grown out of more absolute ones. In 
every state there has been a time when the government 
was supposed to derive its authority directly from God, 
not from the people. They had no voice in establish- 
ing the government, nor in administering it. From 
various causes, in different countries, the existing gov- 
ernment, usually a sovereign, either alone or with an 
aristocracy, gave to a portion of the people suffrage as 
a privilege. These extended it to others, until the 
voting class in each state has come to be what it is. 
When people have once enjoyed the privilege of vot- 
ing, they have claimed it as a right, basing the claim 
upon the fact that it has been given by the government. 
For the last century the tendency has been toward 
universal suffrage. 



NATURE AND DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP. 49 

Whatever opinion may be held as to the limits 
placed upon suffrage, there can be no doubt B as i S f obliga- 
that whoever may vote ought to vote. tion to Vbte. 
The obligation upon the state to have the best govern- 
ment rests upon every individual to the extent of his 
possible influence. If he have a voice in the selection 
of officers, and so in making the laws, he is as much 
bound to use his opportunity for good as to perform the 
commonest act of honesty or charity. The difference 
is so wide between a good government and a bad one, 
the interests at stake are so precious, that indifference 
in politics becomes a crime. Voting is a trust held by 
the few for the interest of the many : to use it, and to 
use it conscientiously, this is to promote order and hap- 
piness ; and not to use it, or to abuse it, is to take the 
part of those who prey upon society for their personal 
profit. 

The duty to have a good government rests upon the 
subjects of absolute authority, as well as upon those 
who have a vote in controlling the state. D U t y f Revo- 
When the government fails to meet its lotion, 
obligations to the people, when its acts are injurious 
rather than beneficial, the people are bound to seek a 
change either in the form of the government, or in the 
mode of its administration. This is the duty of revo- 
lution. This change may be effected in either of two 
ways : first, by what is termed moral resistance, that is, 
by complaint, petition, and refusing to aid in enfor- 
cing the law ; or, second, when there is just ground of 
complaint, when the other method has failed, and there 
is a fair prospect of success, by armed opposition. 

The third condition deserves notice as illustrating a 
general principle. Though the acts of a government 



50 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

may be ever so oppressive, it is better to suffer them for 
a time, than to start a rebellion which cannot succeed. 
The evils resulting to the state from a civil war are so 
enormous, that to begin such a contest for trivial rea- 
sons, or against overwhelming odds, is the highest 
crime that can be committed against the welfare of 
society. The frequent revolutions which have charac- 
terized the republics of South and Central America have 
retarded their progress and weakened their influence. 
The duty of the government here is as plain as that 
of the individual. While one mav be 

Government . . i i i 

bound to pun- bound to rebel, the other is as much bound 

to resist. The man who undertakes to over- 
throw the established government takes his life in his 
hands. The government must regard rebels as traitors, 
and if they are unsuccessful must punish them as such. 
If the cause is a worthy one, rebels may be patriots ; and, 
if successful, their names may go down to posterity with 
honor. The British government looked upon Washing- 
ton as a rebel and a criminal ; America considers him 
a model of political virtue. 

The various duties of the citizen, that have been 
Nature of Po- enumerated, are moral obligations with 
litical Duties. all t ^ G we ight of such. They are things 
to do or not to do, to do well or ill, demanding choice, 
and involving responsibility. They go along with 
such obligations as honesty, chastity, and temperance, 
and come under the great law of human relation which 
requires every man to love his neighbor as himself. 

SUMMARY. 

1. A citizen is a member of the state. 

2. A citizen may be native or naturalized. 



NATURE AND DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP. 51 

3. Persons on being naturalized usually have all the 
civil rights and duties of native-born citizens. 

4. Every citizen is bound to support the government 
by obeying its laws. 

5. He is bound to disobey a law which violates his 
conscience ; but he must suffer the penalties of dis- 
obedience. 

6. Every citizen is bound to support the government 
with his money, and by his service if necessary to its 
defence. 

7. Voting is a duty. 

8. Suffrage is called a right because it has been con- 
ferred as such gradually by absolute governments. 

9. Revolution may be a duty. Armed revolution is 
justifiable only as a last resort, and when success is 
probable. 

10. The government should punish rebels. 

11. Political duties are moral obligations. 



PAET II. 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE STATES 
BEFORE THEIR INDEPENDENCE. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL, RELIGIOUS, AND POLITICAL 
LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 

As most of the settlers of the thirteen colonies were 
from England, it is necessary to know what notions of 
government they brought with them ; and to do this we 
must trace the development of civil institutions in the 
mother country. We shall find that nearly all that is 
best in our government had been secured by centuries 
of conflict in Great Britain. 

Under the Anglo-Saxon kings, 1 people were divided 
into two great classes, — freemen and slaves. Two 
classes of freemen existed, — those who owned land, 
and those who did not. 

The country was divided into Counties, in each of 

which a Court was held periodically, pre- 

. rp.- J * County Courts, 

sided over by an alderman. I his court was 

an assembly of freemen ; and it is doubtful if any but 
land-owners voted. Before this body, wills and deeds 
were attested ; and it was also a court of justice. At 
first the whole body of people decided matters in dis- 
pute. Afterward, in each case, a body of men, usually 
twelve, acquainted with the facts, gave a decision upon 
oath. This was the germ of the modern jury system. 

1 See close of chapter for list of sovereigns of England. 

55 



56 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The system was gradually developed by employing men 
not acquainted with the facts, and bringing witnesses 
before them to testify ; and a further change was made 
when the decision of questions of law was given to a 
judge, leaving to the jury only questions of fact. The 
county officers were elected by the freemen at these 
courts. 

The central government was vested in a king, who 
came to the throne by hereditary title, but 
also, usually, with the consent of the larger 
land-owners. Associated with him in the management 
of affairs was a body called the Assembly of the Wise 
Men. Originally all the land-owners were entitled to a 
seat in this assembly ; but after a time only the more 
The Great powerful exercised the right. This body 

Council. nac i power to raise troops for national 

defence, to impose taxes, to direct ecclesiastical affairs, 
and to care for the general interests of the state. The 
body met only when convoked by the king. 

Thus it appears, that the government was a limited 
monarchy, that the great body of the- people had no 
voice in its administration, that the local institutions 
afforded considerable liberty to the lower classes of 
freemen, and were designed to secure justice to 
all. 

The Norman Conquest (1066) wrought some most 
The Feudal important changes. The Feudal System 
System. was introduced. By this the king was con- 

sidered the proprietor of all lands, and distributed them 
among the people as he chose. To some he gave lands 
for which they were to pay a fixed rent ; but most held 
estates on condition of rendering a stipulated amount 
of military service. The holders were called the king's 



ESTABLISHMENT OF LIBERTY EST ENGLAND. 57 

vassals, and held the property for a specified time, or 
for life ; and later the title became hereditary. As 
king's vassals they were entitled to a seat in his coun- 
cil. These men granted portions of their estates to 
subordinates on similar terms. 

Many abuses crept into the system. Besides the mili- 
tary service, the king's vassals were re- 

, . j, . , ,, Feudal Abuses, 

quired to furnish money to ransom the 

king's person, and on the marriage of his eldest daughter. 

If a vassal died, the king received money of the hen on 

coming to the property : if the heir was not of age, the 

king became his guardian, and received the revenues of 

the estate. Often, in place of the military service, the 

kings demanded money. 

Besides the great council composed of the king's vas- 
sals, there came to be a smaller one con- 
sisting of those officers of state who were 
immediately attached to the king's person. This latter 
body came to exercise all the administrative part of the 
government under the authority of the king. The king 
interfered in the local administration by withdrawing 
an important part of the business from the county 
courts, and giving it to justices of his own appoint- 
ment. Some of the county officers also came to be 
appointed by the king. 

In all these ways the Norman sovereigns oppressed 
their subjects; and person and property Norman Oppres- 
were not secure from their arbitrary rule. sion - 
During all this time the barons struggled against the un- 
just exactions ; and each king, on coming to the throne, 
granted a charter in which he solemnly promised to 
respect the ancient laws, and to refrain from oppressive 
acts. But these promises were never kept. 



58 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

During the reign of John, who was both weak and 
mean, the barons, under arms, compelled 
him to sign the famous instrument called 
Magna Charta (1215). The larger part of this con- 
sisted of concessions to the barons, remedying feudal 
abuses. It also established a fixed mode of administer- 
ing justice, setting up in the counties a court to be 
held by two judges appointed by the king, and four 
knights chosen by the county. The most important 
declaration was as follows : — 

" No freeman shall be arrested, or imprisoned, or 
dispossessed of his tenement, or outlawed, or exiled, or 
in any wise proceeded against ; we will not place or 
cause to be placed hands upon him, unless by the legal 
judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. Jus- 
tice shall not be sold, refused, or delayed to any one." 
It will be seen that here was a promise of complete 
civil liberty to every freeman. But John and the 
kings who succeeded him evaded these charters in every 
possible way, and, though repeatedly taking oath to 
respect them, were always violating them. 

It had always been a fundamental principle, that the 
Or' in of the king could lay no taxes without the con- 
House of sent of his council, though every king had 
done so. In the early part of the thirteenth 
century, the lesser vassals of the king, though not attend- 
ing the council, had considerable prominence in the 
counties ; and associated with them was an important 
class of land-owners who held their property on other 
than feudal terms. These were the so-called English 
yeomanry. The kings, hoping to secure a party in the 
council in their interest, began the practice of summon- 
ing a certain number of men from the counties, to be 



ESTABLISHMENT OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 59 

chosen by those smaller land-owners as their representa- 
tives. These men were called knights of the shire. 
About the same time, many towns had acquired wealth 
and importance ; and to secure their influence, and also 
that they might be taxed with their own consent, they 
were invited to send deputies to the assembly (1250- 
1300). These were called borough members. There 
was no system in the matter. Those boroughs which 
were called upon were represented, and only those. 
The right came to be based upon custom, so that in 
process of time many large towns grew up without 
representation, while old but decayed boroughs retained 
the ancient privilege. This was the cause of the evil 
of " rotten boroughs," which created so much agitation 
in the early part of the present century. 

Thus it appears that during the thirteenth century 
the limiting body came to consist of three 
parts, — first, the barons and bishops, sit- 
ting by their own right ; second, the knights of the shire, 
elected by the land-owners of the counties ; third, the 
borough members, elected by those who managed the 
local affairs in the towns. The last two classes, having 
interests in common, after a time united, and formed the 
House of Commons ; the other constituted the House 
of Lords : the whole made up the Parliament. 

At first the Commons had little share in the govern- 
ment except to assent to taxation. If they Power of the 
had grievances to be redressed, or new Commons, 
measures to propose, they framed petitions, and pre- 
sented them to the king through their presiding officer, 
for this reason called Speaker. These requests were so 
frequently disregarded, that they gradually adopted the 
surer method of framing their wishes into statutes, and 



60 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

then presenting them to the king for his approval. 
They claimed the right of free discussion, and then the 
right to examine into public expenditures, and to hold 
the king's ministers responsible for maladministration. 
All these were signs that the idea of the government's 
responsibility to the state was gaining ground. 

On the accession of the Tudors (1485), they found 
Arbitrary Rule the nobility greatly weakened by the long 
of the Tudors. civil wars that had preceded, and the 
commons had not yet acquired the courage to defend 
their rights stoutly. The result was, that under 
Henry VII. and Henry VIII. the people suffered the 
most gross and oppressive exactions. When Parlia- 
ment objected to voting money, the king's ministers 
raised it by illegal modes of taxation. One of these 
ministers told the merchants whom he was trying to 
fleece, that those who lived expensively thus showed 
their wealth, and those who lived prudently must have 
grown rich by economy, and so both classes could afford 
to be taxed. 

Personal security was no more inviolate than prop- 
erty. Hallam says, " A single suspicion in the dark 
bosom of Henry VII., a single cloud of wayward 
humor in his son, would have been sufficient to send the 
proudest peer of England to the dungeon and the scaf- 
fold." During the reign of these two men, the au- 
thority of the king was more nearly absolute than at 
any other period of English history. The complete 
establishment of civil and political liberty came after a 
century and a half of agitation respecting religion. 

The Roman Catholic was the only religion in England 
Power of the an d on the Continent. Immense estates 
Church. were connected with the churches and 



ESTABLISHMENT OF LIBERTY LN ENGLAND. 61 

monasteries, and the wealthy bishops and abbots had 
seats in Parliament, and great influence in the state. 
The pope as supreme head of the church claimed also 
the right to interfere in some of the civil affairs of the 
nations ; but the English people had always been jealous 
of this interference, though not always able to resist suc- 
cessfully. 

Henry VIII. , having quarrelled with the pope about 
a divorce, renounced his allegiance, and The Separation 
was proclaimed by Parliament supreme fromRome ' 
head of the church in England (1534). By this act 
the English Catholic Church became a separate body ; 
and after this time the king and Parliament had 
complete control of the appointment of church officers, 
and the regulation of church affairs. Henry abolished 
the monasteries, and confiscated their property to the 
crown. 

During this reign the Protestant Reformation began in 
Germany under Luther (1517) ; and the The Protestant 
doctrines of the new religion spread rapidly Reformation, 
over Europe and in England. Henry VIII., though 
he quarrelled with the pope, was still a Catholic. He 
persecuted the Protestants for heresy, while he also 
punished the Catholics who refused to acknowledge his 
supremacy. 

Edward VI., though a boy when he became king 
(1547), had decided opinions in favor of The Reformation 
the Protestants; and the chief of his ad- * England, 
visers sympathized with him. They at once began the 
work of change. The church services, which had 
always been in Latin, were changed by the prepara- 
tion of a prayer-book in English which omitted the 
leading Catholic doctrines. Images were removed from 



62 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the churches, and many of the ceremonies of the old 
religion abolished. The clergy were permitted to 
marry. Yet in this change the government of Ed- 
ward had regard to the fact that the majority of the 
people were still Catholic. For this reason it adopted 
a moderate policy, intending to introduce more com- 
plete changes as the temper of the people would receive 
them. 

Many of the Protestants were dissatisfied with this 
course, and demanded the removal of all 
traces of the Catholic worship. These 
people, who wanted the old ceremonies abolished, were 
called by their enemies Puritans. The refusal of Hooper 
to be consecrated as bishop in the robes usually worn on 
such occasions may be considered the beginning of Puri- 
tan history (1550). 

Edward died before the reform was completed, and 
Changes Mary came to the throne (1553). She was 

under Mary. a Catholic, and immediately filled all the 
church offices with men of that faith, removed from their 
places the clergy who had married, and fully re-estab- 
lished the old forms. The Protestant clergy suffered 
much from the zeal of the queen, and large numbers fled 
to the continent. Here they became still more strongly 
impressed in favor of a simple worship. 

On the death of Mary (1558), these exiles returned 
Policy of Eliza- to England, hoping that Elizabeth would 
betlL carry on the change begun by Edward; 

but she found herself in a peculiar and embarrassing 
position. She was considered the head and exponent 
of Protestantism ; and as such the Catholic powers of 
Europe were leagued against her. Many of her own 



ESTABLISHMENT OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 63 

subjects were ready to listen to foreign conspirators, and 
rise in rebellion. For this reason, though she restored 
the Protestants to place, she did not push the new -reli- 
gion beyond its position at the death of Edward. 

Two laws of a preceding reign were re-enacted, and 
became under her administration instru- Act of Suprem- 
ments of the severest oppression. One, ac y- 
called the Act of Supremacy, required all ecclesiastical 
officers, and all officers of the government, to take an 
oath to support the queen as the supreme head of the 
Church. This, good Catholics could not do ; and they 
lost all controlling influence from that date. Besides 
this, at different times, other laws were passed under 
which the Catholics suffered much persecution. 

The second statute, called the Act of Uniformity, 
forbade worship to be conducted in any ActofUni- 

place, public or private, in any way but formity. 

that prescribed by law, and required all persons to at- 
tend public service at the stated times. Under the 
direction of some of the bishops, this law was brought 
to bear upon the Puritans, who had quietly been wor- 
shipping in their own way. Hundreds of the parish 
clergy were expelled from their livings. From all over 
England complaints came to the queen, that the churches 
were closed, and the people deprived of the customary 
religious observances. The petitions were not heeded, 
and the persecution went on. 

About this time, in consequence of persecution in 
different parts of the country, a new idea Ri se f the 
about religion was gaining favor. Some Separatists, 
people had come to believe that the government 
should have no control over the religious opinions and 
practices of its subjects. They held that any body of 



64 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Christians might organize themselves into a church, 
choose their own officers, and be independent of all ex- 
ternal authority. Thus, breaking away entirely from the 
Established Church, they began to organize themselves 
by the choice of pastors, teachers, and other officers, and 
to worship in secret. These radical reformers were 
called in derision, Brownists, from an early advocate of 
the doctrine, who afterward went back to the state 
church. Afterward they were called Separatists and 
Independents. They were as obnoxious to the Puri- 
tans as to the government, and were punished by fines, 
imprisonment, torture, mutilation, and death ; but they 
steadily increased in numbers. 

During the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth, there 
Parties in came to be five religious classes: the 

Religion. Church party, holding extreme views of 

the authority of the government, and sustaining all its 
harsh procedure ; the conforming Puritans, who desired 
reform, yet from motives of policy or fear, or from 
associations, still adhered to the prescribed modes of 
worship ; the non-conforming Puritans, who believed 
in the authority of the civil magistrate in matters of 
religion, but could not conscientiously adopt the ritual 
established for them, and were hoping for a change in 
the policy of the state ; the Separatists, who had re- 
nounced the state religion, and were worshipping in 
little companies, in houses and barns, and wherever 
they could be concealed from the officers of law ; and, 
lastly, the Catholics. An understanding of New Eng- 
land history requires that this distinction between the 
Separatists and Non-conforming Puritans be carefully 
noticed. The latter believed that the form of religious 
service should be prescribed by law, and that the civil 






ESTABLISHMENT OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 65 

magistrates might and should punish persons for heret- 
ical belief and practices : the other believed in the 
entire separation of church and state. 

On the accession of James (1603), the first of the Stu- 
arts on the throne of England, the Puri- ^ stuarts and 
tans hoped for favor ; but they were disap- the Popular 
pointed. Seeing nothing to hope for at Part y- 
home, they began that emigration by which the Puritan 
colonies in New England were peopled. There began 
now a struggle between the king, determined to exercise 
arbitrary power, and the Commons, who had been grow- 
ing stronger, and among whom Puritans were numerous. 
The Commons claimed, and, after a time, succeeded in 
securing, the right to judge of the elections of their own 
members. They contended for free speech in Parliament, 
for the right to discuss all matters pertaining to the 
general interest of the kingdom, for exemption from 
arbitrary imprisonment, and that there should be no 
taxation without their assent. All these claims were 
resisted by James, and after him by Charles. They 
summoned parliaments to grant them money for carry- 
ing on the government ; the Commons demanded 
redress of grievances as a condition of voting the sup- 
plies. This, in general, was the attitude of the two 
contending parties. 

Early in the reign of Charles (1628), the Commons 
framed an instrument called the Petition Petition of 

of Right, to which the king unwillingly Right, 

assented. In this the Commons complained of illegal 
and unjust procedure, and claimed four rights : first, 
that no person should be compelled to pay any tax 
levied without consent of Parliament ; second, that no 
freeman should be imprisoned except by regular legal 



66 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

process; third, that soldiers should not be quartered 
upon the people ; fourth, that the people should not be 
subjected to martial law. These were not new claims. 
The second and fourth were as old as Magna Charta ; 
the first was older still. But the people now were 
enlightened enough and strong enough to insist upon 
them. 

At one time, Charles governed for eleven years 
The Long Par- without a parliament, raising money by 
hament. the most illegal and oppressive methods. 

When, in 1640, he summoned another, a majority were 
Puritans. They had always been foremost in opposing 
the absolute policy of the kings, and many of them 
now had come to be Independents. This Long Parlia- 
ment, as it is called, because existing twelve years, 
carried at the outset two measures of the utmost im- 
portance in restraining the arbitrary rule of the king. 
One law ordained that Parliament should not be dis- 
solved without its own consent ; the other abolished the 
Court of Star Chamber, a body of judges wholly under 
the king's control, by which all the constitutional 
modes of administering justice had been set aside, and 
which had been the instrument of all the kings in dis- 
posing of obnoxious personal enemies. 

Charles was compelled to assent to these measures ; 
but when the parliament demanded the 
control of the army he resisted, and both 
parties took up arms (1642). The king was supported 
by most of the nobility, by the Catholics, and by the 
Church party. The parliamentary side was taken by 
the Puritans and by the middle and lower classes of the 
people. During the war the Episcopal Church was over- 
thrown, and a Presbyterian form of worship and church 



ESTABLISHMENT OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 67 

government prevailed. The king finally fell into the 
hands of the parliament, by whom he was tried and exe- 
cuted for treason (1649). 

The Commons then abolished the House of Lords, 
and vested the supreme executive power TheCommon- 
in a council of state of forty members. wealth. 
In 1653 Cromwell dissolved the parliament by force. 
Another parliament gave to him the supreme power 
with the title Lord Protector. He summoned and dis- 
solved one parliament after another, ruling quite abso- 
lutely until his death in 1658. The triumph of the 
Commons, instead of establishing the government on a 
firm basis, and securing that civil and political liberty 
for which they had been struggling so long, only intro- 
duced a period of greater contention, of which the people 
became thoroughly tired. 

Cromwell was succeeded by his son Richard, who 

could not exercise his father's sway, and 

-, , . , r™ , , . « ™ . The Restoration, 

resigned his place. Ine control oi arrairs 

fell into the hands of a few military leaders ; and in 
1660 the people gladly received as king Charles II., 
who had been in exile during the existence of the Com- 
monwealth. This event is known in English history 
as the Restoration. The government was re-established 
on its old basis, the episcopal system again set up, and 
for a time the parliament was submissive to the king ; 
but his favor to the Catholics, and other measures, alien- 
ated the people from him. His brother Arbitrary Rule 
James, who succeeded him (1685), at- of James, 
tempted to re-establish the absolutism that had charac- 
terized the Tudors. He claimed the power to set aside 
acts of Parliament ; he purposed to repeal the Habeas 
Corpus act, passed in the preceding reign ; he wished to 



b8 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

establish Catholicism as the state religion ; he inter- 
fered in the election of members of Parliament ; and 
he assumed the control of ecclesiastical affairs. 

These arbitrary measures alarmed and exasperated the 

people, and after reigning 1 four years James 
The Revolution. ^ * % f * 

was compelled to fly trom the country. 

The crown was then offered to William of Orange and 

his wife Mary, the daughter of James. This event is 

known as the Revolution (1689). Its consequences 

were most important. 

On the accession of William and Mary, a parliament 
was summoned which passed the famous 
Bill of Rights, which has been called the 
third bulwark of English liberty. The other two are 
Magna Charta and the Petition of Right. This bill de- 
clared it illegal for the sovereign to suspend the laws, or 
dispense with their execution, or to levy money without 
grant of Parliament, or to keep a standing army with- 
out the consent of Parliament. The bill declared the 
right of the subjects to petition the king, to bear arms 
in their own defence, to be exempt from excessive bail 
and fines, and from cruel and unusual punishments. It 
also declared that parliaments should be held frequently, 
that the election of members should be free, and that 
the members should have freedom of speech in their 
debates. 

During this reign, considerable progress was made 
toward securing religious toleration and freedom of the 
press ; and a limited term was fixed for the duration 
of Parliament. The mutual relations of king and Par- 
liament became definitely settled, and the constitution 
has undergone but slight changes since. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 69 
SUMMARY. 

1. Under the Saxon kings, the government was 
limited in two directions : first, by the county courts, 
in which the freemen administered their own local 
affairs ; and, second, by the great council, whose consent 
was necessary for taxation. 

2. Under the Normans, the feudal system gave more 
power to the crown. The arbitrary exercise of this 
power was the origin of the first formal declaration of 
civil liberty in Magna Charta. 

3. The House of Commons originated in a desire of 
the crown to make itself independent of the nobility 
by creating a new party in its own interests. 

4. This body acquired the right to frame statutes, to 
originate money bills, to examine into the public expen- 
diture, to hold the king's ministers responsible. 

5. The separation of the Church of England from 
Rome was effected by Henry VIII. 

6. The change from the Catholic to the Protestant 
faith was effected during the reign of Edward VI. 

7. The Puritans were Protestants who were dissatis- 
fied with the moderate policy of reform adopted by 
Edward and afterward by Elizabeth, and urged the 
entire abolition of Catholic forms. 

8. Some of the Puritans were driven by persecution 
to adopt new principles of ecclesiastical polity, and 
advocated the right of Christians to organize their own 
churches and choose their own officers, without dicta- 
tion or control by any external authority. These people 
were called Separatists. 

9. Most of the Puritans believed in a union of church 
and state. 



70 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

10. The Puritans became the chief opponents of the 
arbitrary political measures of the Stuarts. 

11. During the reign of James I and Charles I., 
there was a continual struggle between the Commons 
and the king, about taxation, and freedom of speech in 
Parliament. Charles assented to the Petition of Right. 
The quarrel ended in the civil war, in which the king 
was defeated, and in consequence of which he lost his 
life. 

12. For a few years the monarchy was abolished, and 
the Commons ruled under the guidance of Cromwell. 
This was the period of the Commonwealth. 

13. A reaction followed in favor of royalty : the res- 
toration of the Stuarts took place, and liberty was 
again restricted. 

14. Arbitrary rule again excited discontent, and 
brought about the Revolution, in which James II. was 
compelled to leave the throne, and the crown was given 
to William and Mary. 

15. A bill of rights was passed, which became one 
of the chief safeguards of English liberty. 

IMPORTANT DATES. 

1066. Norman Conquest. 

1215. Magna Charta. 

1517. Lutheran Reformation. 

1649. Execution of Charles I. 

1660. The Restoration. 

1689. The Revolution. 

SOVEREIGNS OF ENGLAND. 

Normans. House of Plantagenet. 

William I. 1066-1087. Henry II. 1154-1189. 

William II. 1087-1100. Richard I. 1189-1199. 

Henry I. 1100-1135. John, 1199-1216. 

Stephen, 1135-1154. Henry III. 1216-1272. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 



71 



Edward I. 1272-1307. 
Edward II. 1307-1327. 
Edward in. 1327-1377. 
Richard II. 1377-1399. 

Houses of Lancaster and York. 
Henry IY. 1399-1413. 
Henry Y. 1413-1422. 
Henry YI. 1422-1461. 
Edward IY. 1461-1483. 
Edward Y. 1483-1483. 
Richard in. 1483-1485. 

House of Tudor. 
Henry YIT. 1485-1509. 
Henry YIII. 1509-1547. 
Edward YI. 1547-1553. 
Mary, 1553-1558. 

Elizabeth, 1558-160a 



House of Stuart. 
James I. 1603-1625. 

Charles I. 1625-1649. 
(The Commonwealth). 
Charles II. 1660-1685. 
James II. 1685-1689. 

Houses of Stuart and Nassau. 
William HI. 1689-1702. 
Mary H. 1689-1694. 

Anne, 1702-1714. 

House of Brunswick. 



George I. 
George II. 
George in. 
George IY. 
William IY. 
Victoria. 
Edward Y1I. 



1714-1727. 

1727-1760. 

1760-1820. 

1820-1830. 

1830-1837. 
1837-1900. 
1900- 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE COLONY OF NEW PLYMOUTH. 

In 1497, one year before Columbus discovered the 
Discovery by continent of South America, John Cabot 
Cabot. an( j hj s son Sebastian, sailing under the 

English flag, discovered the mainland of North America 
at Labrador, and took possession of it in the name of 
Henry VII. In accordance with feudal principles, the 
territory thus acquired became subject not to England, 
but to the king, who in future grants styled himself 
the sovereign lord thereof. 

In 1606, James I. issued a patent, as it was called, 
Grants by granting to certain men the territory in 

James I. North America between the thirty-fourth 

and forty-fifth degrees of- latitude, extending inland 
fifty miles. These men were to form two companies : 
the London Company might occupy between the 
thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees ; the Plymouth 
Company might occupy between the thirty-eighth and 
forty-fifth degrees ; but neither could settle within a 
hundred miles of the other. These companies were 
formed for the purpose of trade and settlement. They 
could send out colonies, and grant land to them, could 
defend them against all aggressors, and had the abso- 
lute monopoly of all trade and commerce that grew 
72 



THE COLONY OF NEW PLYMOUTH. 73 

out of their enterprise. The London Company planted 
Virginia : the other body made only unsuccessful at- 
tempts within the limits assigned them. 

In 1620 the king incorporated the members of the 
Plymouth division of the old company The Council for 
into a new and distinct body called New England, 
usually " The Council for New England." To this 
corporation was given in absolute title the territory 
between the fortieth and forty-eighth degrees of lati- 
tude, extending across the continent from sea to sea. 
The council received not only the same powers that the 
old company had, but the right to make all provision 
for governing the colonists whom they might send out. 
From this council were received all the titles to lands 
in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. 

In 1608 a company of Separatists who had been wor- 
shipping according to their ideas in the The Pilgrim 
village of Scrooby, in Nottinghamshire, Church. 
England, were driven by persecution to fly to Holland, 
where religious toleration existed. They went to Am- 
sterdam, and thence to Leyden, where they remained 
until 1620. Not satisfied with their condition here, 
they decided to emigrate to America. 

Two things were necessary : to secure a title to land, 
and to raise money for the expenses of the Means for Emi- 
outfit. The first they obtained from the Ration. 
London Company, intending to settle within its grant. 
The king, in general terms, promised that they should 
be unmolested b}^ him. They obtained funds by a 
partnership with some London merchants, but on terms 
which hindered the prosperity of the colony. Ten 
pounds was the price of a share in the common stock. 
Each settler's labor was valued at one share. If he 



74 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

put in ten pounds in money besides, he was entitled to 
two shares. The settlers and their families were to 
live out of the common stock for seven years ; at the 
end of which time all lands, buildings, &c, were to be 
divided among the shareholders. The community of 
property and labor was injurious to the best interests 
of the settlers. 

Instead of settling within the territory of the Lon- 
don Company, they found themselves at 
Cape Cod, and on the 21st of December, 
1620, began the settlement of New Plymouth. Eight 
years after, they obtained from the Council for New 
England a grant of land with obscurely defined limits, 
and power to exercise such civil authority as they 
might find necessary. 

The story of their voyage, and the hardships of their 
first winter, are matters of general history. The object 
of this chapter is to exhibit the character of their civil 
government. 

They had existed in England and Holland as a 
Character of church, and, until they reached the New 
the Colony. World, had been nothing more than a 
voluntary association, organized first for religious pur- 
poses, and then for emigration. Now they were about 
to become a civil society, and knew that government 
would be necessary. They were still Englishmen, 
subjects of King James, and inhabitants of English 
soil. They were therefore amenable to the laws of 
England. But there existed no provision for adminis- 
tering those laws. They were left wholly to them- 
selves. 

They met this emergency in the spirit of their reli- 
gious faith; and, by a compact adopted before their 



THE COLONY OF NEW PLYMOUTH. 75 

landing, forty-one of the members of the company 

formed themselves into a civil body politic, and agreed 

to choose such officers, and make such 

, ., . • i - i The Compact 

laws, as their circumstances might make 

necessary ; and they promised submission and obedience 
to this rule of the whole. 1 Here was the founding of 
a state ; not a sovereign state, because it recognized the 
authority of King James, but a dependent state for 
local government. 

The original signers of the compact were styled 
freemen of the colony ; and they consti- 
tuted the voting population, with such per- 
sons as they by vote of the majority admitted from time 
to time. For many years no qualifications were speci- 
fied as necessary in order to become a freeman. In 1658 
it was enacted that no Quaker should become a member 
of their association; and in 1671 freemen were required 
to be twenty-one years of age, of sober and peaceable 
conversation, orthodox in the fundamentals of religion, 

1 The compact was as follows: "In the name of God, amen. We, 
whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign 
lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and 
Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c, having undertaken, for the 
glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our 
king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern 
parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the 
presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves 
together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preserva- 
tion, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof tc 
enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, 
constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most 
meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we 
promise all due submission and obedience. In -witness whereof we have 
hereunder subscribed our names, at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, 
in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James of England, 
France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 
Anno Domini 1G20." 



76 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

and possessing at least twenty pounds ratable estate 
within the colony. These restrictions were not 
adopted until the generation of original settlers had 
passed away : they were always true to their Separatist 
ideas of religious freedom. 

The freemen annually elected a governor, and five 
Form of Gov- (afterward seven) assistants. This was 
eminent. the executive department. A meeting of 

the governor and assistants was called a Court of 
Assistants. A meeting of all the freemen was called a 
General Court. Laws were made by the general 
courts ; and both bodies exercised judicial functions as 
circumstances made necessary. The first legislative 
act on record is the establishment of trial by jury. 

The early legislation was simple, and but little of it 
Early Legis- recorded. It furnishes an admirable illus- 
lation. tration of the gradual process by which the 

statute law of a state is developed under the pressure 
of circumstances. The infant colony had suffered from 
scarcity of food ; and a ' law was made prohibiting the 
exportation of corn, pease, and beans. The thatched 
roofs had taken fire ; and the people were forbidden to 
cover their buildings with straw. Thus, as occasion 
required, new statutes were made ; but the principles 
which guided their administration were those of the 
English common law. In 1636 a revision of the law 
was made ; and at this time the functions of the several 
officers were more clearly defined. 

In this code is the first formal intimation of the sepa- 
ration into towns. Upon the expiration 
Towns. „ .. n i . i i 

oi the seven years lor which the partner- 
ship was formed with the London merchants, the lands 
were divided among the freemen, who began to extend 



THE COLONY OF NEW PLYMOUTH. 77 

their settlements to a considerable distance from Ply- 
mouth. In 1636 Scituate and Duxbury seem to have 
acquired considerable importance, as two men from 
each were appointed, with four from Plymouth, to revise 
the laws. By a new statute of this year, the inhabitants 
of Plymouth were permitted to meet together to make 
44 orders for the herding of their cattle, and such other 
things as shall be needful for their more neighborly 
living together ; " and it was not long before similar 
privileges were granted to other communities. 

By this time it had come to be inconvenient and un- 
safe for the freemen to leave their homes, 
and go to Plymouth to attend the frequent epresen 
meetings of the General Court. In 1638 the represen- 
tative system was established. There had come to be 
eight towns ; and in each the inhabitants were to choose 
two freemen (Plymouth four) as deputies, who should 
act with the governor and assistants as a legislative 
body. The whole body of freemen still elected the 
officers annually, though the voters of any town might 
express their choice by proxy through their deputies. 

In 1671 the frame of government became still more 
definitely established by a revision of the Revised Laws 
laws, and the publication of them under the ■ of 1671 - 
title, 44 General Laws and Liberties of New Plymouth 
Colony." This body of laws is prefaced by a chapter 
entitled 44 The General Fundamentals." The first sec- 
tions of this are important as showing what the colonists 
regarded as their rights. After stating that they had 
come hither as "freeborn subjects of the state of Eng- 
land," with all the privileges of such, they ordain, " that 
no act, imposition, law, or ordinance be made or im- 
posed upon us, at present or to come, but such as shall 



78 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

be made or imposed by consent of the body of freemen 
or associates, or their representatives legally assembled, 
which is according to the free liberties of the state of 
England." They further declare that no person shall 
be governor or assistant but such as have been freely 
chosen by vote of the freemen. Next they assert that 
grand declaration of Magna Charta, that there shall be 
a free, impartial, and speedy administration of justice, 
and that no person shall be deprived of his natural 
rights but by due process of law. Trial by jury is also 
guaranteed. The growth of the colony is nowhere 
more manifest than in these successive revisions of the 
laws. By this code, the judicial functions were with- 
drawn from the General Court, and vested in a court of 
assistants, which was to sit at Plymouth at least three 
times a year, and which was to decide all capital, crim- 
Separate Judi- inai > an( ^ civ il causes. Beside this supreme 
cial Bodies. body, in each town a body of selectmen 
was to be chosen ; who should have the power to try all 
civil causes involving debt, trespass, or damage, not 
exceeding forty shillings. From this local judgment 
there might be an appeal to the assistants' court. Thus 
was justice " brought home to every man's door " as 
the English constitution demanded. 

In 1685 three counties were formed by grouping 
Formation of neighboring towns. They were called 
Counties. Plymouth, Barnstable, and Bristol. In 

each county two annual courts were to be held by such 
of the assistants, called magistrates, as lived within their 
limits. Much of the business that had been transacted 
by the courts of assistants was now placed in the hands 
of the county courts. At the same time full powers 
were given to the selectmen to attend to the local affairs 



THE COLONY OF NEW PLYMOUTH. 79 

of the town, as care of the poor, care of highways, and 
preservation of the public peace. In a future chapter 
we shall examine the functions of counties and towns 
in detail. This colony remained distinct until 1692, 
when it was united with Massachusetts. 

SUMMAEY. 

1. All grants of lands in North America were made 
by the king. The title to the territory of New Ply- 
mouth was obtained from the Council for New England. 

2. The settlers were a company of Separatists, who 
from their many wanderings have been called Pilgrims. 

3. Being a voluntary association, and without civil 
authority, they drew up a compact by which they agreed 
to establish a government in which the members of the 
association should have an equal voice. 

4. Members of the association were called freemen ; 
and they were admitted by vote of the majority, at first 
without specified qualifications : afterward suffrage 
was restricted on the basis of character, religious belief, 
and property. 

5. At first the colonists lived together at Plymouth : 
afterward they formed different communities which 
were empowered to transact local affairs. In the man- 
agement of town business, persons of good character 
might vote, though not freemen of the colony. 

6. Executive functions were in the hands of a gover- 
nor and assistants, called magistrates, chosen annually 
by vote of a majority of the freemen. 

7. Legislative functions at first were vested in the 
whole body of freemen acting together as a general 
court. Afterward the general court consisted of the 
magistrates, and deputies sent by the towns to represent 
them. 



80 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

8. Judicial functions were exercised at first both by 
the magistrates alone and by the general court ; then 
by the magistrates holding courts for the whole colony, 
and by selectmen chosen in the towns to decide small 
causes ; afterward by county courts and the selectmen, 

9. All legislation recognized the supreme authority 
of the king ; and justice was administered according to 
the common law of England. 



CHAPTEE X. 

THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

In 1628 some persons in England obtained from the 
Council for New England a grant of land Tne incorporated 
extending from three miles north of the Com P an y« 
River Merrimack to three miles sonth of the Charles, and 
from ocean to ocean. The next year, these persons with 
others, being Puritans or favorably disposed toward 
Puritanism, and many of them men of influence at court, 
received a charter from the king, incorporating them 
under the title, " The Governor and Company of the 
Massachusetts Bay in New England." Their object 
was to found a colony where non-conforming Puritans 
could live and worship unmolested. 

The charter empowered the company to choose its 
own officers, to admit new members, to 
hold land and other property in England 
and America, especially the territory in New England 
included in the previous grant, to transport settlers, to 
make all rules for managing the company affairs, and 
to provide for governing and protecting its colonists. 

The administration of company business was to be in 
the hands of a governor, deputy governor, 
and eighteen assistants, chosen annually by 
the whole body of freemen or members. Four times a 

81 



82 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

year, there was to be "a great, general, and solemn 
assembly " of the company, called " the Great and 
General Court," at which new members should be ad- 
mitted, laws made for the government of the company 
and colony, and, once a year, officers chosen. 

The company sent out a few settlers to Salem ; but 
Transfer of while its meetings were held in England, 
Charter. the colonists, though members of it, had 

no voice in its management. Men of character and 
influence were unwilling thus to deprive themselves of 
the privilege of self-government, and would not emi- 
grate. To remove this objection, it was soon decided 
to transfer the charter to New England ; and a large 
body of settlers immediately came over, locating them- 
selves in Boston and vicinity about 1630. The effect 
of the change was, to give the control of the colony to 
those settlers who were members of the company. The 
others had no more voice than before. But the com- 
pany had changed to a body politic. To be a freeman of 
the company was to be a citizen ; and thus, as new mem- 
bers were admitted from time to time, the colony came 
to be self-governing under the protection of the com- 
pany charter. Very early it was enacted that no person 
could become a freeman unless he were a member 
of some church within the colony; and 
this provision remained in force until 1664. 
The administration of government, both executive and 
judicial, was intrusted to the governor and 
assistants, sometimes called magistrates, 
who held monthly meetings called Assistants' Courts. 
The whole company in its general courts, held some- 
what irregularly, chose officers, made laws, and at- 
tended to some judicial business. The records show 



THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 83 

that at first the functions were not very clearly de- 
fined. 

In 1634 the towns sent deputies to act with the ma- 
gistrates ; and for ten years these two 
bodies, sitting together but voting sepa- epre 
rately, formed the General Court for legislative business. 
No law could be enacted without a majority vote of 
both bodies, each having what is called a " negative " 
upon the other. In 1644 the two bodies were sepa- 
rated ; and thus the General Court was constituted for 
forty years. At first the whole people met for election : 
afterward they met in their towns and voted, and sent 
their votes by their deputies to be counted by the 
General Court. 

Judicial business, as has been said, was conducted 
both by the Court of Assistants and by the General 
Court. Very early the magistrates performed the func- 
tions of justices of the peace, though without the title. 
Soon four quarterly courts were established at Ipswich, 
Salem, Cambridge, and Boston, to be held by the resi- 
dent magistrates, and persons appointed by the General 
Court to act with them ; and a quarterly court at Boston 
by all the magistrates. Next, in each town, a magis- 
trate, or some person appointed for the purpose, was 
empowered to try cases involving less than twenty 
shillings. In 1643 four counties were organized for the 
more complete administration of justice. 

Very early the people formed the habit of meeting 
in the towns to discuss local matters, and 
of choosing men to manage them ; and it 
was not long before the General Court recognized the 
town as corporations, and gave them power to transact 
business, and to choose officers. 



84 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The Puritan settlers of Massachusetts Bay, unlike 
Puritan Legis- the Pilgrims, believed that the civil magis- 
lation. trate had authority in matters pertaining 

to religion and the church. They had founded their 
state for the express purpose of maintaining what they 
believed to be a pure worship ; and much of the legis- 
lation was directed to securing this end. This was 
the reason for restricting suffrage to church-members. 
In furtherance of the same object, they endeavored to 
compel attendance upon all the stated religious services, 
and taxed all the inhabitants to support the gospel. 
They passed stringent laws to prevent the promulga- 
tion of what they considered erroneous views, and 
punished severely any attempt to introduce a different 
faith from that which they had devoted themselves to 
establish. They endeavored to promote the public 
morals by legislation respecting the observance of the 
Sabbath ; and numerous statutes were made to prevent 
profanity, intemperance, and impiety. Most of the 
other New England colonies copied these laws ; and the 
reputation which these states have always had for 
morality shows how successful was this early legislation. 

After the Restoration, Charles II., who had no love 
Demand of f° r Puritans, was disturbed by the progress 

Charles II. f this colony, and began a series of meas- 

ures to check what seemed a dangerous spirit of inde- 
pendence. He required the officers to take an oath of 
allegiance to him ; that all judicial processes should be 
issued in his name ; that the Episcopal form of worship 
should be tolerated; and that the rights of freemen 
should not be restricted to church-members. The 
colonists considered some of these demands to be con- 
trary to the terms of their charter, and withheld com- 
pliance. 






THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 85 

Next, the king sent commissioners to investigate the 
state of the colonies, giving them power KoyaiCom- 
to hear any complaints that might be missioners. 
made against the colonial governments, and to receive 
appeals from the colonial courts. They were also 
directed to use their influence to induce the colo- 
nies to give up their charters, and receive a royal 
governor. Most of the colonies received the commis- 
sioners, and treated them with consideration ; but Mas- 
sachusetts refused to acknowledge their authorit}^, and 
would not allow any appeal to them. 

The king continued his demands, to some of which 
Massachusetts yielded, imposing the oath Extension of 
of allegiance upon all the freemen, modi- Suffrage. 
fying some of the severest laws against the Quakers, 
and repealing the act limiting suffrage to church-mem- 
bers. But she required that voters who were not church- 
members should be orthodox in religion, not vicious 
in life, twenty-four } T ears of age, householders, and 
paying a yearly tax upon property so great that prac- 
tically the franchise was scarcely extended beyond its 
old limits. 

At length the struggle ended by a legal declaration 
on the part of the king's officers, that Loss of the 

Massachusetts had forfeited her charter. Charter. 

This was in 1684, and measures were at once taken to 
send out a royal governor ; but the death of the king- 
prevented. 

James, his successor, whose arbitrary conduct drove 

the people of England to revolution, was „ . . 

* x to Suspension of 

not likely to treat the New England colo- Popular Gov- 
nies with much favor ; and for a time pop- ernmen • 
ular government there was suspended. In 1686 the 



$6 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

king appointed a president, deputy president, and six- 
teen councillors, to have complete executive and judicial 
control over Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. 
There was no provision for an assembly. Near the 
close of the same year, Sir Edmund Andros arrived in 
Boston as governor of all New England. When the 
charter of Massachusetts was revoked, all powers which 
it conferred were withdrawn, and the colony was left 
wholly at the mercy of the king. Even the titles to 
land, based upon the charter, were void. The people 
were considered subjects not of England, but of the 
king of England, and therefore not entitled to the civil 
and political rights of Englishmen. 

Andros was sent to put these principles into practice. 
Government of A council appointed by the king was asso- 
Andros. ciated with him ; and together they were 

empowered to make laws, which should be sent to Eng- 
land for the royal sanction, to levy taxes, to establish 
courts of justice, to regulate trade and currency, to 
reprieve and pardon. The servant was as tyrannical as 
his master. Excessive taxes were imposed ; and, though 
the people resisted, they were compelled to pay them. 
Owners of land were required to pay certain sums, 
called quit-rents, in order to secure a new and valid title 
to their property. The council became a cipher in the 
administration, and the will of Andros became the sole 
law ; and he and his favorites enriched themselves at 
the expense of the people. In the next year, his com- 
mission was extended to include New York and New 
Jersey ; and Boston was made the capital of the whole 
province. Early in 1689, news arrived of the dethrone- 
ment of James, and the accession of William and Mary. 
At once there was an uprising of the people of Boston. 



THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 87 

Andros and his friends were seized and imprisoned, and 
a provincial government was established Kevolution of 
on the basis of the old charter. Similar !689. 
proceedings took place in Plymouth, and in Rhode 
Island and Connecticut, which had never given up their 
charters. 

The agents of Massachusetts tried in vain to secure 
a renewal of the old charter. Its provis- t^ p rov ince 
ions were too liberal to suit the king ; and Charter, 
in 1691 a new one was made, known as the Province 
Charter. The terms of this were such that the people 
no longer had that virtual independence of the crown 
which they had so long enjoyed, and which their 
neighbors of Connecticut and Rhode Island still pos- 
sessed. Massachusetts, Plymouth, Maine, and Nova 
Scotia were united under one government. A gov- 
ernor, deputy, and secretary were to be appointed 
by the king. A house of deputies, chosen as before by 
the towns, and a council of twenty-eight change in the 
members, appointed at first by the king, Government, 
afterward by the General Court, formed the legislature. 
The governor was commander of the militia, and 
appointed all military officers. The election of council- 
lors was subject to his sanction. With the consent of 
the council he appointed all judicial officers. The Gen- 
eral Court was to assemble on the last Wednesday in 
May, and the governor coulcl convoke, adjourn, or dis- 
solve it. This dangerous power was afterward used 
against the people when they were preparing for the 
Revolution. All acts passed by the deputies and coun- 
cil must receive the approval of the governor to 
become law, and then be sent to England for the 
approval of the king's ministers. They could be 



88 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

annulled within three years. Much of the first legis- 
lation failed to receive the royal sanction. 

The General Court established a new judiciary system, 
consisting of a superior court, a court of common pleas 
in each county, justices of the peace, and a court of 
sessions in each county, consisting of the justices of the 
peace therein, who heard appeals from the justice's 
courts, and had charge of some miscellaneous county 
business. The charter changed the basis of suffrage, 
making the qualifications for a freeman the possession 
of a freehold 1 worth two pounds sterling a year, or 
personal property worth forty pounds. This charter 
went into operation in 1692 ; and from that time until 
the Revolution, Massachusetts and Plymouth, having 
lost the privilege of self-government, existed as a royal 
province subject to such governors as the king of Eng- 
land chose to send. 

SUMMARY. 

1. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was established 
under a charter from Charles I., in Boston and vicinity, 
about 1630. 

2. The control of the colony was vested in the com- 
pany ; but by a transfer of the charter the power came 
into the hands of a portion of the settlers. 

3. Executive and judicial power was chiefly exer- 
cised by a governor, deputy governor, and assistants. 
Legislative functions were exercised by the whole body 
of members of the company, meeting in an assembly 
called the Great and General Court. At this meeting, 
also, officers were chosen. 

1 Freehold, — an estate held in absolute ownership, either for life or 
without limitation of time. 



THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 89 

4. Different communities early assumed the powers 
of towns, which powers were afterward formally con- 
firmed by the court. 

5. In a few years, these towns chose deputies to act 
with the assistants in legislation ; and the General Court 
came to consist of two bodies, each having a negative 
upon the other. 

6. Judicial business was gradually withdrawn from 
the General Court, and intrusted to courts held in differ- 
ent parts of the colony by the magistrates, afterward to 
county courts ; and persons in the towns were empow- 
ered to " end small causes." 

T. Only church-members were allowed to become 
freemen ; and thus the political power was in the 
hands of a small minority of the colonists. The legis- 
lation was also largely in the interests of the Puritan 
churches. 

8. The kings were displeased with the practical inde- 
pendence of this colony, and tried various means to 
reduce it to subjection. Finally, in 1686, the charter 
was taken away, and with it all political privileges. 

9. During several years the colony was under the 
control of persons sent from England. These were 
intrusted with extensive authority, which they abused ; 
and the people had no means of redress. 

10. The Revolution in England was followed by a 
similar outbreak in Massachusetts. On the accession 
of William and Mary, a new charter, called the Province 
Charter, was given to the people. 

11. This gave the choice of governor to the king, of 
judges to the governor, of deputies to the people, and 
of a council to the General Court, which consisted of 
deputies and council. The people lost much of the 



90 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

power which they enjoyed under the company charter. 
At this time Plymouth was united with Massachusetts. 
12. New courts were established, suffrage was based 
upon a property qualification, and the king's assent was 
required to all laws. 



CHAPTER XL 

TELE COLONIES OF CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND. 
CONNECTICUT. 

As in the other colonies, the title to the territory 
occupied by Connecticut was based upon (j rant f Ter- 
a grant of land from the Council for New ritory. 
England. This was made to its president the Earl of 
Warwick, who deeded it to a company of eleven per- 
sons, of whom Lord Say and Seal was the first named. 
The limits of the grant were, on the east, the Narragan- 
sett River ; on the north, a straight line from that river 
westerly ; on the south, the seashore for one hundred 
and twenty miles ; on the west, the South Sea. Within 
these limits, a number of detached companies settled 
themselves, but soon became united into two colonies. 

About 1635 settlers from the vicinity of Boston 
emigrated to the Connecticut River, and The Connec- 
located themselves at Windsor, Wethers- ticut Colony, 
field, and Hartford. They supposed themselves to be 
within the territory of Massachusetts ; and the General 
Court granted a commission to eight of the prominent 
men to govern the colony for one year. These men 
seem to have administered all the colony affairs for 
about three years. Sometimes, when special business 
made it advisable, the towns appointed committees to 
act with the court. 

91 



92 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

In 1639 all the free planters met at Hartford, and 
The Consti- framed and adopted a constitution, which 
tution. j s considered the first instrument of the 

kind on record. It provided for two general courts 
annually : one for election, where the whole body of free- 
men were to choose by ballot a governor and six magis- 
trates, or assistants ; the other court, for legislation, was 
to consist of four deputies from each of the original 
towns, and from new towns according to the popula- 
tion, with the governor and magistrates. The governor 
had power to convoke the assemblies ; but they could 
only be adjourned or dissolved by vote of a majority of 
the members. Judicial powers were in the hands of 
the magistrates. In this instrument there was no 
recognition of any external authority whatever. The 
first court held after the adoption of the constitution 
prepared a bill of rights which in its main provision 
was based upon Magna Charta. 

In the same year, each town was empowered to dis- 
pose of its own lands, to choose its own 
officers, and order its own local affairs. In 
each, three, five, or seven men might be chosen annu- 
ally, who should have power to decide all controversies 
when the amount at issue did not exceed forty shillings. 
A town clerk was also to be chosen. 

In 1638 a company of persons from England, under 
New Haven the lead of John Davenport and Theophi- 
Colony. i us Eaton, formed a settlement at New 

Haven. It was a wealthy society, and so united and 
well disposed that there was no civil, military, or eccle- 
siastical authority for the first year. Then, at a meet- 
ing of the people, it was agreed, that church-members 
only should be freemen, and they only should choose 



CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND. 93 

magistrates. They therefore proceeded to choose 
twelve men, who of their own number selected seven 
to begin the church. These seven, called pillars, formed 
the church out of such individuals as they saw fit. The 
church so formed, with such members of other churches 
as desired, constituted the body of freemen ; and they 
elected a governor and four magistrates. Legislative 
or judicial business was transacted both by the magis- 
trates, and by the general court of all the freemen. 

Settlements were soon after made at Milford, Guil- 
ford, and Stamford ; and each town governed itself after 
the New Haven model. In 1643 these four towns 
united under a form essentially the same as in the 
Connecticut Colony. In all, the state was ruled by the 
church, as in Massachusetts Bay. 

The two colonies remained distinct until 1662, when 
a charter was obtained from the king in- ^ charter 
corporating nineteen persons of Connecti- Government, 
cut, with such associates as they might elect, under the 
title, " The Governor and Company of the English 
Colony of Connecticut in New England in America." 
The territory granted them embraced that formerly 
given to Warwick, and included the towns of the New 
Haven Colony. There was to be a governor, deputy 
governor, and twelve assistants, and a house of depu- 
ties composed of two members from each town ; all 
elected annually by the freemen. As in most of the 
other charters, there was a reservation that no laws 
should be made repugnant to the laws of England. 

This patent was exceedingly obnoxious to the people 
of New Haven, who by it would lose their separate 
existence, and with it the fundamental principle upon 
whicli their government was based. The privilege of 



94 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

becoming freemen could no longer be restricted to 
church-members. For three years New Haven refused 
to accede to the demand of Connecticut, and main- 
tained its independence ; but in 1665 it was obliged to 
yield, and the charter government went into operation. 
So completely was the power in the hands of the peo- 
ple that even the Revolution made no change necessary, 
and this charter formed the only constitution of Con- 
necticut until 1818. 

For the administration of justice, courts were held in 
the counties by the resident assistants, from 
whose judgment appeals might be made to 
the Assistants' Court at Hartford, which also had juris- 
diction in all capital cases. The pardoning power was 
vested in the general assembly. 

The legislation was, in the main, copied from the 

Massachusetts code, and was not less 
Legislation. . . . . a . 

minute in its provisions to promote bab- 

bath-keeping, chastity, and temperance ; but the so- 
called Blue Laws, with their absurd details, were the 
invention of a man not in sympathy with the colony, 
who had returned to England. 

The right of suffrage was granted to any person 

twenty-one years of age, owning real 

estate to the amount of twenty pounds, 

and recommended by the selectmen of his town as of 

honest, civil, and peaceable conversation. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

As in Connecticut, so in Rhode Island, various 
Providence isolated settlements were at first made, 
Plantation. which soon found it necessary to unite for 
mutual protection. In 1636 Roger Williams and five 



CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND. 95 

others began a settlement at Providence. They were 
soon joined by others ; and Williams, who had received 
a deed from Indian chiefs, divided the land equally 
between himself and his associates. From the incom- 
plete records of the town, it appears that the people 
met monthly to determine matters of general interest, 
but delegated no power except to a clerk and a treasurer. 
There is a record of an early compact in which the 
signers agreed to subject themselves " only in civil 
things " to such orders as should be made by the 
majority of the masters of families inhabiting the town. 
This limitation of the civil authority to " civil things " 
is characteristic of all the legislation of this colony. 

Within a few years (1640), it became necessary to 
have a more complete civil organization, Early Govem- 
and it was determined to choose five " dis- ment - 
posers," as they were called, to attend to the general 
business of the town. They were to meet by them- 
selves monthly, and quarterly were to report to the 
town, and give up their trust for a new election. In- 
stead of making these selectmen judges, as was done in 
the other colonies, all private disputes were to be settled 
by arbitrators chosen by the parties to the quarrel, or, 
if they refused, by the " disposers." Special town 
meetings could be called at the request of any citizen 
who was dissatisfied with the action of the selectmen. 
This was the most completely democratic government in 
New England. In fact, it was too democratic to work 
successfully. It allowed too much liberty to individuals, 
and gave too little authority to the community. 

In 1638 a settlement was made at Portsmouth, and 
in the next year one at Newport; both by Rhode Island 
people from Massachusetts who, like Wil- Plantation. 



96 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

liams and his friends, had left that colony to escape 
from the intolerance of the ruling class. In these two 
towns the business was transacted in general meetings. 
Soon a judge and elders were chosen, whose official 
duties corresponded with those of the selectmen in the 
other colonies ; and provision was also made for trial by 
jury. Frequent meetings of the townsmen were held. 
In 1640 the two towns united ; and a general govern- 
ment was established, consisting of a governor, deputy 
governor, and assistants, chosen annually by the free- 
men. Provision was made for a regular administration 
of justice ; and the official positions, and the meetings for 
election and of the general court, were shared equally 
by the two towns. 

In 1644 Williams obtained from the English Parlia- 
The Charter ment a charter uniting the three towns for 
Government. the purpose of government, empowering 
them to adopt such form, and to choose such officers and 
make such laws, as they saw fit. After a delay of three 
years, they organized a government similar to that in 
the other colonies, but could not agree, and soon sepa- 
rated. In 1663 Charles II. granted another charter 
more explicit in its details, but giving to the people the 
most perfect liberty in election of officers and in legis- 
lation, and establishing complete religious toleration. 
The administration was to be in the hands of a gover- 
nor, deputy governor, and assistants, who were to hold 
courts at Providence and Newport for judicial business. 
The towns were to choose deputies to the general court ; 
and these with the magistrates formed the legislature. 
As in Connecticut, the people were so completely inde- 
pendent that the revolution added nothing to their 
political privileges ; and this charter formed the only 
constitution until 1842. 



CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND. 97 

SUMMARY. 

1. The title to the territory of Connecticut was based 
on a grant to the Earl of Warwick by the Council for 
New England ; and the land was purchased from the 
Indians. 

2. There were originally two principal colonies, each a 
group of towns. The Connecticut colony was founded 
by emigrants from near Boston ; the New Haven colony, 
by persons from England. 

3. The Connecticut colony was at first governed by a 
Massachusetts commission, afterward under a constitu- 
tion prepared by itself, which organized a representative 
government after the Massachusetts model, but did not 
make church-membership necessary to suffrage. 

4. The New Haven colony started with the idea that 
the church should control the state, and therefore gave 
the suffrage only to church-members. Its form of gov- 
ernment was essentially the same as in the other 
colonies. 

5. The two colonies were united by a royal charter, 
which placed all political power in the hands of the 
people. The organization was the same as had pre- 
viously existed in the Connecticut colony ; and the con- 
ditions of suffrage were the same. 

6. Towns existed from the beginning with powers of 
local administration. 

7. Rhode Island at first existed as two colonies known 
as the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

8. Providence was founded by Roger Williams, who 
had been sent away from Massachusetts Bay ; and New- 
port and Portsmouth by Coddington and others, who 
were also exiles. 



y» CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

9. The founders established the most perfect equality, 
vesting but little authority in any officers. It was a 
fundamental article in all their compacts and laws, that 
the government should control the people " only in 
civil things." 

10. The different towns at first governed themselves, 
but were afterwards united, first by a parliamentary 
charter, and afterwards by one from the king. 

11. Under the last charter, absolute religious freedom 
was secured, and a representative government wholly 
in the hands of the people was organized. 

12. In the charters of Rhode Island and Connecticut, 
no authority was reserved by the king ; and they there- 
fore formed the constitution of the States until some 
time after the Revolution. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE COLONIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE. 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

In 1622 the Council for New England made a grant 
of land between the Merrimack, the Ken- 
nebec, the ocean, and the River of Canada, 
to two men, Gorges and Mason ; who called their terri- 
tory Laconia. Under their direction, the next year, a 
few persons settled on the Piscataqua at Portsmouth 
and at Dover ; but it was several years before either 
colony acquired much importance. In 1633 a small 
company of people from England settled at Dover ; and, 
a few years after, some disaffected people from Massa- 
chusetts joined them. There was great diversity of 
religious opinion, and much contention. New proprie- 
tors claimed the territory, and employed agents to 
govern the people ; but in 1640 the settlers formed a 
combination for self-government. A short time before 
this, Exeter had been founded by people from Massachu- 
setts, — a part of the same class that settled the Rhode 
Island Plantation. Here a church was founded, and a 
form of government set up ; a governor being chosen, 
and the whole body making laws. In 1638 Hampton 
was settled under the authority of the Massachusetts 
Court ; and the next year it was empowered to act as a 
town, and to send a deputy to the legislature. 

LofC. " 



100 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Massachusetts, under her charter, claimed the terri- 
Cession to Mas- tory occupied by these four towns. To 
sachusetts. Iqq f ree f rom domestic disturbance and con- 
tested claims, in 1641 a portion of the patentees of Dover 
and Portsmouth ceded to Massachusetts the jurisdiction 
over their territory. She accepted the grant, and took 
measures for administering the government. Persons 
who were freemen before the union were allowed to 
vote, and hold office, though not church-members ; and 
two deputies were sent to the General Court. In 1643, 
on petition of the inhabitants, Exeter was received 
under the Massachusetts government ; and in the 
same year all the towns north of the Merrimack were 
formed into a county called Norfolk. Local justice 
was administered as in the other parts of Massa- 
chusetts. 

New Hampshire remained thus a part of Massachu- 
MadeaRoyai setts until 1679 ; when it was declared by 
Province. t ne English government a royal province, 

and a president and council were appointed by the king. 
These persons were to have judicial functions, subject 
to an appeal to the king ; and, with an assembly of 
deputies from the towns, might make laws, also subject 
to the approval of the king. At the first meeting after 
the organization of the government, a code of laws was 
framed ; in which it was declared that " no act, imposi- 
tion, law, or ordinance should be made, or imposed upon 
them, but such as should be made by the assembly, and 
approved by the president and council." 

This government, so favorable to the people, was 
Oppressive Ad- soon superseded by one which was oppress- 
ministration. [ Ye [ n the extreme. A new governor was 
appointed, with increased power. He might adjourn or 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE. 101 

dissolve the assembly at his pleasure, might appoint all 
military and judicial officers, constitute judicial courts, 
and remove members of the council. 

The people were perpetually harassed by the claims 
of Mason and his heirs, who demanded the payment of 
quit-rents, and in whose interests the governors were 
appointed, — men whose only object was to enrich them- 
selves at the expense of the colony. There was much 
trouble between the people and their officers until the 
establishment of the royal government over Massachu- 
setts, when New Hampshire was included under the 
administration of Dudley and afterward of Andros. 
All the colonies suffered alike from the tyranny of this 
man. 

After the revolution, which left New England without 
government, the four towns which still con- _ . 
stituted New Hampshire were at their re- Massacnu- 
quest again united to Massachusetts (1690), setts * 
and represented in its' General Court. They would have 
chosen to remain in this condition ; but the English gov- 
ernment, always willing to curtail the power of Massa- 
chusetts, declined to sanction the union ; and, when the 
Province charter was given (1691), New Hampshire was 
not included. She was again placed under a governor 
and council appointed by the crown, with Again Sepa- 
whom were associated the usual assembly rated, 
of deputies. During most of the time until the Revo- 
lution, New Hampshire and Massachusetts had the same 
royal governors. These usually resided in Boston, leav- 
ing the administration of affairs in the smaller province 
to their lieutenants. 

In the early part of the eighteenth century, the set- 
tlements were extended towards the west, and north as 



102 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

far as Concord, numbers of people from the north of 
Ireland settling Londonderry and the adjacent towns. 

MAINE. 

In 1628 the Council for New England gave to the col- 
Kennebec Set- on y °f New Plymouth a grant of land on 
tiement. tj ie Kennebec ; and they proceeded to erect 

a trading-house. In 1652 Parliament confirmed and ex- 
tended the grant. In 1654 the government of Plymouth 
sent a commissioner thither to organize a local govern- 
ment. About twenty persons took an oath of fidelity 
to the government of Plymouth, and chose an assistant 
to act with the commissioner in judicial matters. A 
brief code of laws was promulgated, which, among other 
things, provided for trial by jury, and also that capital 
crimes should be tried at Plymouth. It was not long 
before the territory was sold. 

Under the early patents granted to Mason and Gorges, 
small settlements had been made at Saco and York ; 
but it was not until 1639 that any thing worthy the 
Gorges' Prov- name of government existed. In that year 
ince « Gorges received a new charter as Lord Pro- 

prietary of the Province of Maine. The territory was 
to extend from the Piscataqua to the Kennebec, and 
from the ocean to a line drawn between the two rivers 
at a distance of one hundred and twenty miles from 
their mouths. 

The form of government which the charter proposed 
Proprietary was quite monarchical. Power was given 
Government. to the proprietor to establish churches, 
organize courts, appoint all kinds of officers, make war, 
regulate trade, and, with representatives of the people, 
make laws. He might also grant lands subject to such 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE. 103 

conditions as he chose. He proceeded to organize his 
government by appointing a deputy governor and a 
council. He divided his territory into two counties, 
in each of which was a court, and from which deputies 
were chosen to the legislature. To York was given a 
city charter which authorized the citizens to choose a 
mayor, aldermen, and council, and the usual subordinate 
officers. Palfrey says, " Probably as many as two-thirds 
of the adult males were in places of authority ; " and he 
describes the whole as " grave foolery." In a few years 
Saco was separated from the Province, and settlements 
were made at Wells and Kittery. In 1649 the inhabit- 
ants of those towns, finding themselves with a pomp- 
ous form of government but no substance, met at 
York, and formed a body politic, choosing officers to 
govern them. 

About this time Massachusetts had learned that all 

this territory came within the limits of her . . ... . 

J ...... Acquisition of 

patent, and set about acquiring jurisdic- Territory by 
tion. The General Court sent three com- Massachusetts, 
missioners to Kittery ; which after some hesitation, in 
1652, submitted, and was constituted a town of Massa- 
chusetts. Its inhabitants were allowed to become 
freemen, without the religious qualifications ; and they 
sent two deputies to the General Court. York followed 
the example of Kittery, and received the same privilege. 
The other three towns soon gave up their claims to 
independence ; and all were united into a county called 
York. In a few years Massachusetts extended her 
jurisdiction to Casco Bay. 

Things remained in this condition for about twenty 
years; when Massachusetts, finding that the English 
government did not recognize the validity of her title, 



104 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

bought the province, and thus assumed a new relation. 

Gorges transferred to Massachusetts the 
Massachusetts ° 

becomes Pro- extensive powers conferred by his charter ; 
pnetor. an( ^ jyj; ame? instead of being a part, became 

only a dependency of her sister State. In 1680 Mas- 
sachusetts established a provincial government. It was 
to consist of a president appointed annually by the gov- 
ernor and assistants of Massachusetts, and a legislature. 
This was to consist of a standing council appointed by 
Massachusetts, and an assembly of deputies from the 
towns. 

This arrangement was of short duration. Massachu- 
Union with Mas- setts soon lost her own independence, and 
sachusetts. with it all power as Lord Proprietary. 
Under the administration of Dudley and Andros, Maine 
experienced the same hardships as the other New 
England colonies. The Province charter of 1691 again 
united the two colonies ; and from that time until 1820 
the history of Maine is merged in that of Massachusetts. 

SUMMARY. 

1. The territory between the Merrimack and Ken- 
nebec was granted to Gorges and Mason in 1622. The 
first settlements were at Portsmouth and Dover. They 
were small, and had little government. 

2. Exeter was settled by Massachusetts dissenters, 
and was self-governing. Hampton was settled under 
the authority of Massachusetts, and governed like the 
other Massachusetts towns. 

3. Massachusetts acquired jurisdiction over all these 
places. They were formed into a county, and sent dep- 
uties to the General Court. 

4. In 1679 New Hampshire was made a royal prov- 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE. 105 

ince, with a president and council appointed by the 
king. An assembly of deputies was to represent the 
people. This government became burdensome and 
obnoxious ; and the rule of Andros was not less so. 

5. After the revolution • of 1689, New Hampshire 
united itself again to Massachusetts, but by the pro- 
vincial charter of 1691 was separated, having the same 
governor, but a distinct assembly. 

6. New Plymouth owned a tract of land on the 
Kennebec, which she governed by commissioners. It 
was soon sold. 

7. A portion of territory between the Piscataqua 
and Kennebec, and extending inland one hundred and 
twenty miles, was granted to Gorges, and called the 
Province of Maine. He set up a government, appoint- 
ing a governor and council, and forming two counties 
from which deputies were sent to a legislature. York 
and Saco were the principal towns. 

8. The towns were soon left to govern themselves ; 
and Massachusetts claimed and acquired the jurisdic- 
tion over them, governing them like her own towns. 

9. Massachusetts bought the Province from Gorges, 
and thus became Proprietor. She established a provin- 
cial government, which existed until Massachusetts lost 
her own independence ; when the two were united, and 
remained one until 182t). 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE NEW-ENGLAND CONFEDERACY. 

Not only did the New-England colonies lay broad 

and strong the foundations of local and 
Its Foundation. . ,. .j , , , , ,, , 

individual governments, but they also in- 
augurated the policy of union. In 1643 articles of 
confederation were drawn up and adopted by the four 
colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and 
New Haven. They gave as reasons for the act, the dis- 
turbed condition of affairs in the mother country, and the 
troublesome character of their neighbors. There was 
evidently the purpose to prepare for the worst in case 
the opening conflict between their enemy the king, and 
their friends the Parliament, should result unfavorably 
to the Puritan cause. The measure was certainly an 
assumption of a degree of sovereignty to which, as sub- 
jects of England, they had no claim. When, after the 
Restoration, their enemies endeavored to prejudice the 
king against them, they pointed to this league as con- 
clusive evidence that the colonies meditated independ- 
ence. 

The four colonies were bound together in a league of 
Nature of the friendship for offence and defence, for mu- 
Union< tual advice and succor in preserving and 

propagating their religious faith, and for their mutual 

106 



THE NEW-ENGLAND CONFEDERACY. 107 

safety and welfare. The name of the confederacy was 
The United Colonies of New England. No new mem- 
ber conld be admitted to the union, nor could two of 
the colonies be united, without the consent of the rest; 
and each colony was to be independent within its own 
limits. 

The business of the confederacy was intrusted to 
commissioners, — two from each colony. 
No action could be taken without the con- 
currence of six members of the board. If so many 
could not agree, the business was referred to the gene- 
ral courts of the colonies for decision. This board 
chose its own president, who had no powers beyond 
those of any presiding officer. The meetings were 
held annually, or oftener, in the principal towns in the 
colonies. 

For carrying on war, supplies of men and means were 
furnished in proportion to the number of 
male inhabitants between the ages of six- 
teen and sixty in the respective colonies. The spoils 
taken in war were distributed in the same proportion. 
In case of the invasion of any one of the colonies, the 
others sent aid on request of the local magistrates. If but 
little aid was needed, only the nearest confederate was 
called upon ; but Massachusetts might be required to 
send at once one hundred armed men with provision, 
and each of the others forty-five men. No larger draft 
could be made until a meeting of the commissioners 
had been held, when they might call for such troops as 
they deemed necessary. 

The articles authorized the commissioners to frame 

such agreements and orders as should pro- 

, ,. , . , General Powers, 

mote peace between the colonies by secur- 



108 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ing justice to the citizens of the different jurisdictions, 
by adopting a uniform policy towards the Indians, and 
by restoring runaway servants and fugitives from jus- 
tice. No colony might engage in war, and thus endanger 
its associates, without the consent of six commissioners. 
A breach of the articles of confederation by any mem- 
ber of the league was to be considered by the commis- 
sioners of the others, who should determine the course 
to be pursued. 

These articles were adopted by the General Court of 
Adoption of the Massachusetts, and by the commissioners 
Articles. f rom N ew Haven and Connecticut, and 

were submitted by the General Court of Plymouth 
to the townships of the colony ; by each of which they 
were ratified. Rhode Island was denied admittance to 
the union, on the ground that its territory belonged to 
Plymouth. It is estimated that the population of the 
four colonies at this time was almost twenty-four thou- 
sand ; of which Massachusetts had fifteen thousand, 
Connecticut and Plymouth each three thousand, and 
New Haven twenty-five hundred. 

While the commissioners met frequently, and made 
Dissensions in suggestions respecting such matters as 
the Confederacy. h ave b een mentioned, the inherent weak- 
ness of the confederacy was shown in the controversy 
with Massachusetts about a war with the Dutch. 
New Haven was troubled by the demands of her neigh- 
bors of New Netherlands, and suspected that the Dutch 
governor was inciting the Indian tribes to a general war 
upon the English colonies. On the strength of this sus- 
picion, she appealed to the commissioners, who proposed 
to declare war. The General Court of Massachusetts, 
knowing that that colony would be obliged to bear the 



THE NEW-ENGLAND CONFEDERACY. 109 

largest part of the expense, refused to be governed by 
the action of the commissioners, declaring that the 
articles of confederation gave them power only in 
defensive warfare, and that no agreement could bind a 
colony to perform an act which her conscience told her 
was wrong. The other colonies protested against the 
action of Massachusetts, accusing her of violating her 
faith ; but she was firm in her refusal to be forced into 
what she thought a causeless war. After several 
months spent in angry discussion, the matter was settled 
by partial concession on both sides. But things had 
taken a more peaceable turn : there was now no occasion 
for war, and Massachusetts gained her point. The whole 
affair showed that any of the colonies might at pleasure 
disregard the voice of the commissioners, and that they 
could do no more than recommend and advise. 

The same weakness appeared when Connecticut 
obtained her charter, which gave her jurisdiction over 
New Haven. The articles -of confederation stipulated 
that no two members should be united without the 
consent of all. New Haven protested against the 
demand of Connecticut, that she should cause of Disso- 
surrender her independence ; and she was lution - 
sustained by Massachusetts and Plymouth. But Con- 
necticut insisted, and finally carried her point, thus 
virtually dissolving the confederacy (1665). 

After several years, a new and similar league was 
formed between Massachusetts, Plymouth, 
and Connecticut. The only business of 
importance transacted by this second confederacy was 
the management of King Philip's war. When James 
II. overthrew the popular governments in New Eng- 
land, this colonial union perished ; to be succeeded by a 



110 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

more enduring one when the general safety was endan- 
gered, not by neighboring savages, but by England 
itself. 

SUMMARY. 

1. In 1643 the colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, 
Connecticut, and New Haven formed a league for mu- 
tual counsel and aid. 

2. The business of the union was intrusted to two 
commissioners from each colony. 

3. In case of invasion of any colony, the others were 
to assist with men and means. The colonies were to 
furnish supplies in proportion to their fighting popula- 
tion. 

4. There was no power in the confederacy to compel 
obedience to the decisions of the commissioners. 

5. The league came to an end in 1665, by the union 
of New Haven with Connecticut. 

6. A second league was formed by the three 
colonies, and by it King Philip's war was carried on. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE COLONIES OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY. 
NEW YORK. 

After Henry Hudson had explored the river which 
bears his name, in 1609, Dutch merchants 
sent vessels to trade with the Indians, and 
established an agency for the purpose on Manhattan 
Island. In 1615 they formed a company, and received 
from the government of Holland the monopoly of the 
trade for four years. They established another trading- 
post near the present site of Albany, and erected rude 
forts at both places ; but the settlers were few. In 1621 
the West India Company was formed, with more exten- 
sive powers both for trade and colonization. They 
sent a considerable body of people to Albany, and, soon 
after, still more to the settlement on Manhattan, which 
they called New Amsterdam. The whole territory 
between the Connecticut and the Delaware they called 
New Netherlands. 

The administration of affairs was intrusted to an 
officer styled director-general, appointed Government by 
by the home government, and a council the Dutch, 
appointed in the same way. This body acted both as 
an executive council and as a judicial court. In 1629 
special inducements were offered for the purpose of pro- 

m 



112 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

moting settlements. Any person who, within four years, 
would bring into the colony fifty persons over fifteen 
years of age, was promised the title "pa- 
troon," a large grant of land, and extensive 
commercial privileges, with complete civil and criminal 
jurisdiction throughout his domain. At the same time, 
actual settlers, emigrating at their own expense, were 
promised as much land as they could cultivate. Under 
this provision two classes of settlements arose. Large 
tracts of land were taken up by the patroons, and com- 
munities established under their control. They ap- 
pointed local officers for administrative and judicial 
business. From their decision appeals might be made 
to the governor and council. The settlers had no 
political and few civil rights. 

Numerous bodies of free settlers formed communi- 
Local Adminis- ti es along the Hudson in New Jersey, and 
tration. on Long Island. Such local officers as 

sheriffs, clerks, and magistrates, were appointed for 
these by the director and council, to whom appeals 
could be made from the local courts. For the first 
thirty years, the people seem to have liad no voice 
either in the local or general government ; and they 
frequently quarrelled with the governors about ques- 
tions of authority. Sometimes the right of appeal from 
the director to Holland was denied ; and the exercise 
of authority was always arbitrary and often oppressive. 
Justice was administered according to the common 
law of Holland and the enactments of the West 
India Company and the director-general. At different 
times, the governor summoned a few men from some 
of the larger communities to consult with the council 
about Indian affairs. In 1653 New Amsterdam was 



THE COLONY OF NEW YORK. 113 

incorporated after the manner of Dutch towns, and a 
board of aldermen and magistrates were appointed by 
the governor. During the next ten years, the communi- 
ties acquired some new powers by being allowed to 
choose double the number of persons required for the 
local officers ; from whom the governor selected those 
who should serve as magistrates. Many English towns 
on Long Island had organized themselves after the 
New England model. 

The people came to be dissatisfied with the small 
share which they had in the administra- Popular Dis- 
tion, but could get no satisfaction from the satisfaction, 
governors or from the company. At one time they 
sent a remonstrance to the government of Holland, set- 
ting forth the grievances of the province, and citing the 
example of New England, " where neither patroons, nor 
lords, nor princes are known ; but only the people." 
Thus it appears that the independent spirit of New 
England was contagious ; and, throughout the colonial 
period, whenever any people wished for more extended 
liberties, they cited the prosperity of New England as 
an argument in favor of local self-government. Any 
remonstrance to the company was answered by an 
order to the governor to suppress sedition, and to punish 
the complainants in an exemplary manner. 

The English government never recognized the claim 
of the Dutch to land in North America ; conquest by the 
and in 1664 King Charles gave to his English, 
brother, the Duke of York, all the territory of New 
Netherlands, including Long Island, Martha's Vineyard, 
Nantucket, the Hudson River, and the land from the 
west side of the Connecticut River to the east side of 
Delaware Bay. The same royal commissioners who came 



114 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

to examine the charter governments of New England, 
and who were treated so unceremoniously in Massa- 
chusetts, were empowered to demand the surrender of 
the Dutch territory. The people made no resistance, 
and the Duke of York became proprietor of New Neth- 
erlands. This relation gave to him the exclusive right 
to the soil, to the revenues, and to the control of the 
civil administration. 

The people expected an improvement in their politi- 
Proprietary ca l condition ; but it was nearly twenty 
Government. years before their share in the provincial 
government was extended. The proprietor appointed 
a governor and council ; and in their hands were the 
executive, legislative, and supreme judicial functions. 
The towns were authorized to choose a constable and a 
board of overseers, who managed the local affairs ; and 
there was a justice of the peace appointed by the gov- 
ernor, who presided at the town courts. There was a 
county court which held jury trials, and from which in 
important cases appeals might be made to a supreme 
court called the " court of assize," held once a year, 
and composed of the governor, council, and town ma- 
gistrates. All men who took the oath of allegiance to 
the proprietor, and were not servants or laborers, and 
owned a town lot, were freemen. 

For nearly twenty years, the proprietor refused all 
Representative requests to call an assembly of the people, 
Assembly. an ^ continued to burden them with taxes 

which they had no voice in levying. At length, in 
1683, he yielded to their entreaties and to the advice 
of friends, and instructed his governor to call an 
assembly. This body consisted of the governor and 
council, and seventeen deputies elected by the free- 
holders. 



THE COLONY OF NEW YORK. 115 

A charter of liberties was prepared, which at length 
brought the colony into line with those charter of Lib- 
about it. It declared that supreme legisla- erties - 
tive power should forever remain vested in the governor, 
council, and people, met in general assembly. Every 
freeholder and freeman might vote without restraint for 
representatives. No tax should be assessed without 
the consent of the assembly. Trial by jury was estab- 
lished, and religious toleration declared. The governor 
had a veto on all acts of the assembly ; and the duke 
might reject any law. On the accession of the proprie- 
tor to the throne of England as James II., these privi- 
leges were revoked ; and New York was governed like 
the New England colonies, without an assembly. 

On the accession of William and Mary, the people 
elected deputies from the counties, who permanent Gov- 
met in assembly with the new governor, eminent, 
and re-organized the government. They established a 
revenue, organized a judiciary, and declared the right 
of the people to a voice in the administration. The 
latter provision was repealed by the king ; but practi- 
cally, from this time, the legislative department was 
constituted as in the other provinces. As in New Eng- 
land, from this time to the declaration of independence 
there was a continual struggle between the assembly 
and the royal governor concerning their respective 
powers. The question of salaries was especially vexing. 
After a time the assembly established the practice of 
making special appropriations for each purpose of gov- 
ernment, and making these only for a year at a time. 
The government retained its form until the Revolution, 
the people exhibiting the same spirit in resisting Brit- 
ish encroachments that marked the other colonies. 



116 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 
NEW JERSEY. 

The territory now occupied by New Jersey had been 
a part of the province of New Netherlands, 

First Proprietor. , . . . , , , -it 

and in its northern parts was occupied by 

a few scattering Dutch families. It was included in 
the grant made by Charles to the Duke of York, and 
was by him immediately assigned to Lords Berkeley and 
Carteret with all the proprietary rights which accom- 
panied the original grant. They took measures to 
induce emigration ; and their concessions were so liberal 
that in a short time numerous flourishing towns were 
established by people from the other colonies and from 
England. 

The government which the proprietors set up was to 

be exercised by a governor and council and 
The Government. 

general assembly. Ine governor was to 

be appointed by the proprietors, the council by the 
governor. The general assembly was the legislature. 
It was to consist of the governor and council, and 
deputies chosen by the freemen of the towns. This 
body was to make laws subject to the approval of the 
proprietary. It had power to constitute courts, to levy 
taxes, to provide for the defence of the province, and 
to make annual appropriations for maintaining the 
government. Thus the privileges for which some of 
the other colonies struggled for years were granted at 
the outset ; especially the right to lay taxes, and to con- 
trol the provincial expenditures. The right to appeal 
to the proprietor was granted in all cases. Freedom of 
conscience and worship was also secured. Local char- 
ters of incorporation were given to the various com- 
munities, by which they were empowered to make their 
own by-laws, to choose their own municipal officers, and 
to hold courts for deciding small causes. 



THE COLONY OF NEW JERSEY. 117 

These local governments went at once into operation, 
and continued without interruption ; but Disturbed Ad- 
the provincial government was for a ministration, 
long time in a confused state. The demand of the 
proprietors for the payment of annual quit-rents met 
with much opposition, especially from those who had 
occupied the land previous to the grant to Berkeley and 
Carteret. Some of the towns refused to acknowledge 
the jurisdiction of the proprietors ; and the meetings of 
the general assembly were frequently suspended for 
several years. 

About ten years from the establishment of the propri- 
etary authority, the province was divided; Division of the 
and the western portion came into the Province, 
hands of William Penn and several others, who pro- 
ceeded to exercise the proprietary right of jurisdiction. 
A government was established, consisting of a governor 
and council, and an assembly representing the people. 
This assembly was to have the appointment of all offi- 
cers except the governor, was to fix salaries, New Govem- 
and to levy taxes. Liberty of conscience ment> 
was allowed ; and, in general, the principles of popular 
government were recognized. The province was divided 
into "tenths;" and these into "proprieties," each of 
which chose a representative. Two districts for judi- 
cial purposes were established, and courts organized. 
This part of the province was settled chiefly by Quakers 
from England and Ireland. 

East New Jersey soon after came into the hands of 
the same Quaker proprietors who owned the western 
province ; but the form of government remained essen- 
tially the same. Counties were soon established in both 
provinces, and courts established ; and the representa- 



118 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

tives to the assembly came to be chosen by the counties, 
instead of by the " tenths." 

During the first thirty years of the history of the 
colony, there were continual disputes between the pro- 
prietors and the Duke of York, between the successive 
proprietors themselves, and between the proprietors 

_ , . and the people. There was hardly any 
New Jersey be- - 1 \ , 

comes a Royal time when there was not more or less 

Province. confusion in the administration of public 

affairs. This unfortunate condition was terminated in 
1702, when the proprietors surrendered to the crown all 
their jurisdiction in both provinces. In that year, one 
royal province was formed, with a governor and council 
appointed by the crown, and an assembly of deputies 
chosen partly by counties and partly by some of the 
towns. A large property qualification was required 
both for the representatives and for the voters ; but this 
was afterward diminished. Laws made were subject to 
the negative of the governor, and were to be trans- 
mitted to the crown for approval. The governor and 
council were authorized to constitute courts of justice, 
and to appoint all judicial officers. 

Thus it appears that the new government was much 
less favorable to the interests of the people than the 
old had been. The control of the judiciary, of expen- 
Preparation for ditures, and of its own sessions, was taken 
Independence, from the assembly, and nothing given in 
their place. New Jersey, like Massachusetts, had less 
political liberty in the second period of its history than 
in the first ; and it was this very change which prepared 
the people for complete independence. From this time 
until the Revolution, the history of New Jersey resem- 
bles that of the other provinces. The royal governors 



THE COLONY OF NEW JERSEY. 119 

were frequently haughty and exacting, the assemblies 
sometimes submissive, but more often persistent in 
resisting what were considered violations of their 
rights. The people were gradually driven to see that 
the only security for permanent peace was in independ- 
ence ; and they united readily with the other colonies 
in securing it. 

SUMMARY. 

1. The territory between the Connecticut and the 
Delaware Rivers was claimed by the Dutch, and called 
New Netherlands. 

2. From 1615 to 1621, settlements were made at 
New York and Albany, under the Dutch West India 
Company. 

3. Political power was wholly in the hands of a 
director-general and a council appointed by the com- 
pany. For the first thirty years, the people had no 
voice either in the local or general administration. 

4. The people became dissatisfied with their condi- 
tion, contrasting it with the freedom of New England ; 
but their complaints were not heeded. 

5. King Charles of England gave the territory to 
the Duke of York, who took it from the Dutch in 
1664. 

6. The people obtained no voice in the colonial 
government until 1683, when a representative assembly 
was formed, and a charter of liberties granted. 

7. On the accession of the Duke of York to the 
throne of England as James II., the colony became 
a royal province, and was under the government of 
Andros. 

8. Under William and Mary, the colony came to be 



120 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

governed in nearly the same manner as Massachusetts ; 
and the people, from this time, were earnest in defence 
of their political privileges. 

9. The territory of New Jersey was granted by the 
Duke of York to proprietors, who encouraged emigra- 
tion, and gave to the settlers extensive political powers. 

10. The local administration was in the hands of the 
people, and continued to be so without interruption. 
Dissension between the proprietors and the people 
caused the colonial government to be frequently in a 
confused state. 

11. The colony next came under the control of 
William Penn and others, by whom the people were 
favorably treated ; but the dissension continued. 

12. In 1702 the colony became a royal province, 
governed like the others, and subject to the same 
encroachments of king and parliament. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE COLONIES OF PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, AND 
MARYLAND. 

PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 

Soon after the colonization of New York by the 
Dutch, a company of Swedes settled on Early Settle- 
the Delaware near the present site of ments. 
Newcastle ; and they extended their limits northward 
nearly to where Philadelphia is now situated, and south- 
ward. After a few years, the Dutch governor of New 
Netherlands compelled them to submit to his rule ; and 
they were governed in the same way as the villages of 
New York. After the conquest by the English, this 
whole territory was claimed by the Duke of York, and, 
being formed into three counties, was under united to New 
the control of the English governor of York - 
New York. The laws of England were substituted 
for those of Holland ; and Newcastle was incorporated 
as a city with the usual officers. 

In 1681 William Penn obtained from Charles II. a 
grant of the land now included in the 
State of Pennsylvania. The description 
of the southern boundary seemed to conflict with the 
claims of the proprietor of Maryland ; and disputes 
arose which were not settled until 1763. In that year, 

121 



122 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the final survey was made ; and the boundary has since 
been famous as Mason and Dixon's line. This charter 
gave to Penn the usual proprietary right to govern the 
settlers, and to appoint officers, but also required him 
to hold assemblies of the people for legislation. 

At the date of Penn's charter, there were within 
Settlements by ^ ne limits of his province some Dutch and 
Penn - Swedes; and he soon obtained from the 

Duke of York a cession of the lower counties, as they 
were called, on the Delaware. Penn immediately sent 
out a colony under a deputy governor. The next year 
he came himself ; and the country along the river was 
rapidly filled by Quakers from England and the Conti- 
nent. No other colony grew so rapidly, nor from the 
beginning was so flourishing. 

Penn very early divided the province into counties, 
Government from each of which delegates were chosen 
under Penn, both to the provincial council and to the 
assembly. The council consisted of eighteen persons 
chosen by ballot by the freemen of the counties for 
three years, one-third retiring annually. This body, 
with the governor or deputy governor, who presided, 
had power to prepare all bills, and propose them to the 
assembly, together with the general executive power, 
the management of the finances and of schools, and 
the establishment of courts of justice. The governor 
could do nothing without the consent of this body. 
The assembly consisted of a large number of delegates 
chosen in the same manner as the councillors. Judges, 
sheriffs, coroners, and justices of the peace were ap- 
pointed and commissioned by the governor. The pro- 
prietor made no change in the form of government 
without the consent of the council and assembly ; but 
in the council he had three votes. 



THE COLONIES OF PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 123 

In 1684 Penn returned to England, leaving the 
administration of affairs in the hands of 
the provincial council. While there, dis- 
satisfied with proceedings at home, he commissioned 
five members of the council to act as his deputies in 
transacting executive business ; afterwards, a single 
deputy governor was appointed. About this time the 
territories, as they were called, — that is, the three coun- 
ties on the lower Delaware, — became dissatisfied with 
the administration, and established a separate legis- 
lature. 

In 1692, by William and Mary, Penn's province was 
taken from him, and placed under the jurisdiction of 
the royal governor of New York ; but in 1696 Penn 
was re-instated in his proprietary rights. His deputy, 
Markham, to satisfy the people, who were not quite 
contented with their political relations, made a new 
frame of government. The number of change in Gov- 
members of the council and assembly was ernment. 
diminished. Freemen were required to be twenty-one 
years of age, to have resided two years in the province, 
and to possess certain property. The assembly was 
given power to initiate legislation, submit- 
ting bills to the council for approbation. 
The establishment of a judiciary was in the hands of 
the assembly. 

Though Penn's government seems to have been, on 
the whole, liberal, the people were always FurtnerChailgeg 
more or less dissatisfied. On his return in the Govern- 
to the province, in 1701, he gave them a men ' 
new charter of privileges, extending slightly the 
powers of the assembly, and also giving to the free- 
men the privilege of nominating to him persons for 



124 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

sheriffs and other inferior officers. The territories, which 
had been again united to Pennsylvania, were given per- 
mission to have a separate legislature, which they availed 
themselves of ; and they remained separate to this ex- 
tent until the Revolution, but having the same proprie- 
tary governor. By this new charter, the powers of the 
council were withdrawn, and the governor acted alone. 
All forms of religion were tolerated. After the death 
of Penn, his sons inherited his proprietary rights, and 
appointed deputy governors to administer the govern- 
ment. There was a council named by the proprietors, 
but not forming a branch of the legislature as formerly. 
The judges were appointed by the deputy governor ; 
but all salaries were granted by the assembly, which 
managed the revenues, and had exclusive control over 
its own sessions. Sheriffs and coroners were chosen 
by the people, and also such local officers as assess- 
ors, overseers of the poor, and pound-keepers. The 
township system was not so complete as in New Eng- 
land ; but the principle of local self-government was 
recognized and acted upon. Thus in Pennsylvania and 
Delaware there had been a gain in the extent of their 
political privileges ; and they continued- in this com- 
paratively independent condition until the Revolu- 
tion. 

MARYLAND. 

The colonial history of Maryland is especially inter- 
esting because it presents the first proprietary govern- 
ment, the first royal charter granting to the colonists a 
voice in legislation, and the first example of complete 
religious toleration. Its territory was granted by 
Charles I. to Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic noble- 



THE COLONY OF MARYLAND. 125 

man, with full proprietary rights (1632). He might 
make laws with the advice, consent, and Proprietary 
approbation of the freemen of the prov- Charter, 
ince ; but the laws must not be repugnant to the laws 
of England. He might impose taxes for his own bene- 
fit ; and the king agreed that no tax should ever be 
laid upon the colony by royal authority. He might 
establish tribunals, erect churches, and control ecclesi- 
astical affairs. He might appoint provincial officers, 
repel invasions, and suppress insurrections. All these 
powers were to be hereditary in the family of the pro- 
prietor. It is a striking feature of the times, illustrat- 
ing the feudal ideas that still prevailed, that the king 
without consulting parliament could convey to a sub- 
ject such almost kingly powers. 

In 1634 the first settlement was made by a company 
of Catholics, mostly men of means. The colonial Assem- 
next year the first colonial assembly met, blies - 
consisting of all the freemen of the province. There 
is no record of their proceedings. As the colony in- 
creased, a necessity for legislation arose ; and the pro- 
prietor framed a code of laws, which he sent to the 
governor to propose to the freemen. A second assem- 
bly was called ; and, though no fault was found with the 
laws, the colonists refused to allow the initiative of the 
proprietor, and would not ratify the code. They drew 
up a code of their own ; but this was never ratified. 

In 1639 a third assembly was called ; and at this time 

the representative system was established. „ 

■ L . J Kepresentative 

Ine governor might personally summon System Estab- 

such persons as he chose ; and the people hshedi 

might send as many delegates as the freemen should 

think proper. A peculiar provision allowed any free- 



126 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

man who had not voted for a deputy to have a seat him- 
self in the legislature. The assembly thus consisted 
of the governor, secretary, those specially called, and 
the representatives, called burgesses. These were 
elected from counties. All sat and voted as one body 
until 1649 ; when it was enacted that the persons called 
by the proprietor should form an upper house, and 
those elected by the colonists a lower house, each hav- 
ing a negative upon the other. 

The assembly of 1639 established a judiciary system, 
and made such laws as were necessary. 
In civil cases the governor was made sole 
judge. Capital crimes were to be tried by a jury before 
the governor and his council. County courts were also 
established. The assembly remained the final court of 
appeal. The people early affirmed the principle that 
no taxes should be imposed without the consent of the 
assembly; but they continued to maintain the most 
grateful and friendly relations to the proprietor. 

The most remarkable enactment was that which 
Religious Tol- established religious freedom: "No per- 
eration. son w ithin this province professing to 

believe in Jesus Christ shall be in any ways troubled, 
molested, or discountenanced for his or her religion, or 
in the free exercise thereof." The only other colony 
which at this time professed toleration was Rhode 
Island ; and there Catholics were excepted. The colony 
grew quite rapidly ; but the new-comers were mostly 
Protestants. During the rule of Cromwell and the 
Puritan party in England, the Protestants acquired the 
supremacy in the provincial assembly, and proceeded to 
disfranchise the Catholic settlers ; but .toleration was 
afterward re-established. 



THE COLONY OF MARYLAND. 127 

The general features of the government underwent 
no important change until the Revolution. Unlike the 
more northern colonies, the people were unwilling to 
gather in towns ; and, in consequence, churches were 
few and poorly sustained, and little opportunity was 
afforded for education. 

The religion of the proprietor subjected him to 
constant misrepresentation and injustice; The Royal Gov- 
and the peace of the colony was frequently eminent, 
disturbed by quarrels growing out of religious differ- 
ences. During the reign of William and Mary, the pro- 
prietor's political rights were withdrawn, and a royal 
governor was appointed. The province was divided into 
parishes, in each of which a Protestant minister was to 
be appointed by the governor, and supported by a tax 
upon all the inhabitants. The Church of England was 
set up, and Catholics were persecuted. In the parishes, 
the management of affairs was placed in the hands of 
vestries elected by the Protestant inhabitants : and free 
schools and libraries were by law established in all 
the parishes , but these were not flourishing. Such local 
matters as in New England devolved upon the select- 
men were in Maryland cared for by the parochial 
officers. But these soon ceased to be elective, and not 
only held their office for life, but filled the vacancies in 
their bodies by their own appointment. After a sus- 
pension of the rights of the proprietors for twenty-four 
years, they were restored to a descendant of Lord Balti- 
more who was a Protestant. 

SUMMARY. 

1. The territory of Delaware was settled by Swedes 
and Dutch, afterward came into the hands of the Duke 
of York, and was by him ceded to William Penn. 



128 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

2. Pennsylvania was granted to Penn by Charles II., 
and was settled by English Quakers in 1681. 

3. The first government established by Penn gave to 
the people the choice of a legislative assembly and an 
executive council. The local officers were appointed 
by the proprietor. 

4. Subsequent changes were made in the govern- 
ment, all increasing the political privileges of the 
people. 

5. After the death of Penn, ' his son inherited his 
proprietary rights, and exercised his authority through 
a deputy. The people now, in their assembly, had 
complete legislative power, and controlled their own 
sessions and the finances of the colony. They also 
controlled the local administration. 

6. The Delaware counties obtained a separate legis- 
lature, but had the same executive as Pennsylvania. 
Both remained under the proprietor until the Revolu- 
tion. 

7. Maryland was settled by English Catholics under 
Lord Baltimore, who received proprietary power from 
Charles I. 

8. In the charter, the king forever exempted the 
colonists from taxation by royal authority. 

9. The people were represented in a legislative assem- 
bly, and early insisted upon making their own laws, 
subject to the approval of the proprietor or his deputy. 

10. The proprietor established religious toleration, 
trial by jury, and local courts of justice ; and the people 
claimed exemption from taxes levied without their 
consent. 

11. During the reign of William and Mary, the 
Church of England was established. The colony was 



THE COLONY OF MARYLAND. 129 

divided into parishes each with a Protestant minister 
supported by general tax. The management of local 
affairs came into the hands of parish officers who held 
their place for life. There were no towns. 

12. The colony remained proprietary until the 
Revolution. 



CHAPTER XVL 

t 

THE SOUTHERN COLONIES. 
VIRGINIA. 

The early political history of Virginia is the history 
The London °f the London Company, whose forma- 
Company. tion we have already noticed. This com- 

pany, to which was given the power to transport 
settlers, and found colonies, was placed under the con- 
trol of a council resident in England, the members of 
which were appointed by the king. Local affairs in the 
colony were to be managed by an inferior council resi- 
dent in the colony, the members likewise appointed by 
the king. Power was afterwards given to this council 
to elect a president, to remove members, and to fill 
vacancies in its membership. Judicial power was 
placed in the hands of the president and council ; and 
they also had such legislative functions as the king did 
not himself exercise. The settlers had no political 
rights whatever. Property was to be held in common 
for five years. Under this charter, Virginia received 
the first permanent English colony (1607). 

The object of the company was solely commercial 
profit ; and the settlers had no higher mo- 
tive. They came without families, and 
with no intention of making the New World a perma- 

130 



THE COLONY OF VIRGINIA. 131 

nent residence. Community of property, even when all 
the members of society are well disposed, is fatal to prog- 
ress ; but when a large proportion are idle and vicious 
nothing but disaster can follow. The colony suffered 
from scarcity of food, from disease, from the Indians, 
and from the rivalries and jealousies of those who had 
been apjDointed to the council. 

In two years, the company received a new charter, 
which enlarged its own powers without 
increasing the liberty of the colonists. 
The local council, with its president, was abolished. 
A single council in England was empowered to man- 
age all colonial affairs, to make laws, and to pro- 
vide for their execution. The king had less power 
than before ; but the colony had no more. Under this 
charter, governors were appointed, who administered a 
military code of laws prepared in England, making 
such additions to it as they pleased. This absolute 
power, in the hands of wise and well-meaning men, 
promoted the prosperity of the colony ; but it gave to 
unprincipled men opportunity for the greatest injus- 
tice. 

The company in England changed from an aristo- 
cratic to a democratic body, the council The Colonial 
being abolished, and all business trans- Assembly, 
acted in general meetings. This change proved favor- 
able to the political interests of the colony ; and, 
in 1619, a governor was appointed, limited in his 
executive authority by a council also appointed by the 
company. He found existing seven distinct planta- 
tions, to which he added four more, composed of 
new settlers. In each of these was a commandant, 
who was chief of the militia, and civil magistrate. 



132 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

From each of these plantations, were summoned two 
representatives, called burgesses ; and these, with the 
governor and council, constituted the first colonial 
legislature in America. 

The company, in 1621, gave to the colony a written 
TheConsti- constitution. This provided that all laws 
tution. made by the assembly, to be valid, should 

be ratified by the company, and that the regulations of 
the company should also be submitted to the assembly. 
Trial by jury was also established. The governor and 
council acted as a court of law ; but appeals might be 
made to the assembly, and from that body to the com- 
pany. The established religion had been from the first 
that of the Church of England. Now the plantations 
were divided into parishes, in each of which a clergy- 
man was to be maintained by a general tax. 

During the next few years, the first extant laws of 
Virginia were enacted. In every planta- 
tion there was to be a church and a burial- 
ground. Absence from public worship was prohibited. 
No taxes were to be levied by the governor without 
the consent of the assembly ; and the same limitation 
was made to the expenditure of public money. Thus 
early did Virginia declare the great principles of politi- 
cal liberty. 

In every parish, three men were to be sworn to see 
Local Govern- tnat eacn settler planted and tended corn 
ment - enough for his family. Each parish was 

also to have a granary, to which every settler was annu- 
ally to bring a certain amount of corn. This was to 
be distributed by vote of a majority of the freemen of 
the parish. This curious provision against scarcity is 
especially important as showing how early the idea of 



THE COLONY OF VIRGINIA. 133 

intrusting the management of purely local affairs to the 
people of the district gained a foothold, and found an 
expression. 

In 1624 the company charter was taken away, and 
the government of the colony came into Becomes a Royal 
the hands of the king ; but there was no Province, 
change in the form of the government. In 1632 a 
new code of laws was made, which resembled in many 
respects those more stringent enactments for which New 
England has been celebrated. Attendance at church 
and orderly behavior there, temperance, and purity were 
enjoined ; and persons might be fined for not catechising 
their children and ignorant persons under their charge. 
The voters in the parish received power to lay out high- 
ways. The election of judicial and executive officers 
seems to- have been in the hands of the governor and 
council. 

In 1643 some important changes were made. Coun- 
ties were established, and courts set up to Formation of 
be held six times a year by commissioners Counties, 
appointed by the assembly. Parish vestries were 
required to be organized, the vestrymen to be chosen 
by the parishioners. Soon after this, a new and perma- 
nent provision was made, requiring that the voters in 
each county should assemble at a place named by the 
sheriff, and give their votes viva voce for two representa- 
tives in the house of burgesses. This was an imitation 
of the English election custom. 

For a few years, during the time of the Common- 
wealth, the assembly elected the governor Growth of an 
and council, and Virginia was independ- Aristocracy, 
ent; but, after the Restoration, the king resumed his 
authority. Up to this time, the political institutions of 



134 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Virginia had been nearly as free as those of the north- 
ern colonies ; but now a change took place. The set- 
tlers had scattered over a large territory ; and the few- 
landholders were cultivating extensive tracts by means 
of slaves and white persons bound to service. These 
persons came now to have all political power. The 
parish vestries were to fill their own vacancies ; the 
county courts were to be held by eight justices of the 
peace appointed by the governor; and these county 
courts were to levy the county taxes, make the county 
by-laws, and appoint the surveyors of the highways. 
Thus the local administration, which, in New England, 
was in the hands of the town officers chosen by the 
people, was vested in county officers appointed by the 
governor. Still later than this, a law was made, that 
none but householders and freeholders should have a 
voice in the election of burgesses. 

The practical working of the system is described in a 
book written at the time. " On each of the great 
rivers of the province are men, in number from ten to 
thirty, who by trade and industry have got very com- 
petent estates. These gentlemen take care to supply 
the poorer sort with goods and necessaries, and are 
sure to keep them always in their debt, and conse- 
quently dependent on them. Out of this number, are 
chosen the council, assembly, justices, and other officers 
of government." It is said that the same causes which 
tended in Virginia to build up a local aristocracy 
operated also in Maryland. 

There was no essential change in the form or prin- 
ciple of government until the Revolution. There were 
frequent disputes between the royal governors and the 
assemblies about their respective powers, just as there 



THE COLONIES OF NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. 135 

were in all the provinces. Virginia was one of the 
foremost in resisting the oppressive commercial meas- 
ures of the English government ; and the resolution of 
independence was presented by her delegates in the 
Continental Congress. 

NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. 

These two colonies had so much in common, that a 
description of the political features of 
either is a description of both. The terri- 
tory occupied by both was included in a grant made by 
Charles II. to eight noblemen (1663) in a proprietary 
charter copied from that given to Lord Baltimore. 

A few refugees from Virginia had occupied the soil 
about the Chowan River ; and some plant- 
ers from Barbadoes settled at the mouth 
of the Cape Fear. To each of these companies, the 
proprietor gave the privilege of nominating a certain 
number of persons from whom a governor and council 
should be selected. These, with an assembly chosen by 
the people, should form the government. Another set- 
tlement was made near the present site of Charleston 
(1670). This was governed in a similar manner. 
After a time the Cape Fear settlement united with 
that at Charleston. 

The proprietors had prepared a constitution which 
embodied the worst features of monarchical The Grand 

and feudal government. It was so com- Model, 

plicated, and so unsuited to the character and circum- 
stances of the people, that it was never put into execu- 
tion, though some attempts were made. The early 
history is full of disputes between the colonies and the 
agents of the proprietors, most of whom used their 



136 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

position for mercenary ends. After about twenty years, 
the Grand Model, as it was called, was set aside ; but 
the government went on as before. Each of the pro- 
prietors had a delegate in the council in each province. 

The colonists were of various nationalities and sects ; 
and considerable trouble arose concerning 
religion. The proprietors wished to estab- 
lish the Church of England, but there were large num- 
bers of dissenters of different names. Sometimes these 
were allowed equal privileges with the others ; but ulti- 
mately Episcopacy was established, and was supported 
by law until the Revolution. 

In 1705 the colony was divided into parishes. Until 
1716, the members of the assembly of South 
Carolina had been chosen by such of the 
freemen as chose to assemble at Charleston for the pur- 
pose ; but in this year the parishes were made election 
districts. About the same time, the northern province 
was also divided into parishes with the usual officers. 

In 1720 the people rebelled against the proprietary 
Royal Govern- government, and a royal governor was sent 
emments. to Charleston ; and in 1729 the whole prov- 

ince was purchased by the crown, and separate royal 
governors were appointed for the two colonies. From 
this time, the government resembled that of other royal 
provinces. It is impossible to present a picture of the 
early political life of either of these colonies. There 
are no records of the mode in which the assemblies 
were chosen or organized ; and nothing is known as to 
the qualifications required for suffrage. There was 
never so large a number of indentured white persons 
as in Virginia ; and consequently there was not so wide 
a difference in social and political rank as in that State. 



THE COLONY OF GEORGIA. 137 

The people were so scattered that churches and schools 
could not be maintained ; and there was less local 
political activity than in the more densely populated 
colonies. 

GEORGIA. 

Georgia was not only settled last of the thirteen 
colonies, but it differed from them all in its Grant to Tms- 
early civil relations. A number of phil- tees - 
anthropic gentlemen received from the king a charter, 
vesting in them as trustees, for twenty-one years, the 
territory between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers 
(1732). Their object was, to provide a home for those 
unfortunate persons whom failure in trade and other 
causes had brought to poverty, and upon whom the 
laws of England pressed with most unjust severity. 

The trustees were to grant small portions of land to 

settlers of this class whom they should 

. , . . . r™ , Administration. 

induce to emigrate, I here were to be no 
large estates, and no slavery was to be tolerated. The 
trustees received the whole power of legislation. The 
affairs of the corporation were to be in the hands of a 
council ; and such officers as were necessary were to be 
appointed for the colony by this council. Beside the 
English poor, the colony was increased by German 
Protestants, by Scotch Highlanders, and by Moravians. 
The government by the council having proved unsatis- 
factory, a single executive officer was appointed, styled 
president, acting with whom were four councillors. 

After about twenty years, a colonial assembly was 
called, not to legislate, but to advise. In Royal Govern- 
1751 the trustees surrendered their char- ment - 
ter to the crown ; and a provincial government of the 



138 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

usual form was at once established, and continued until 
the Revolution. 

SUMMARY. 

1. Virginia was settled under the direction of the 
London Company. 

2. At first the king controlled the affairs of the com- 
pany, and the colonists were wholly without political 
privileges. 

3. In 1621 the colony received a written constitu- 
tion establishing a representative assembly. The con- 
sent of this body was required to make any law of the 
company valid. Trial by jury was also established. 

4. The assembly early declared that no tax could be 
levied without its consent, and assumed the right to 
control the expenditure of the public money. 

5. In 1624 the colony became a royal province, and 
continued so until the Revolution. 

6. Local administration early came to be intrusted to 
parish officers : afterward it was vested in county offi- 
cers appointed by the governor. 

7. Political power came to be chiefly in the hands of 
the wealthy landholders; 

8. The territory of the Carolinas was granted by 
Charles II. to eight English noblemen. 

9. The colonists were few and widely scattered, and 
could not be governed by the complicated constitution 
made by the proprietors. In each colony the proprie- 
tors were represented by a governor, and the people by 
an assembly. 

10. The colony finally became a royal province, gov- 
erned like the others. 

11. The people always guarded their liberty jealous- 



THE COLONY OF GEORGIA. 189 

ly, and resisted all attempts of the proprietors to tax 
theni. 

12. Georgia was founded as a refuge for the poor of 
England. The land, at first, was held by trustees, who 
governed the people arbitrarily. 

13. Afterward a better class of settlers came ; the 
king assumed control ; and the colony was governed like 
the other royal provinces. 



CHAPTER XYII. 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

Ebom the beginning of colonial history, as we have 
seen, there had been disputes between the home gov- 
ernment and the colonies concerning their respective 
authority. At first Massachusetts had been the chief 
defender of colonial claims ; but after the revolution of 
1689 had settled political affairs in England, and both 
parties united in a general colonial policy, all the colo- 
nies were strenuous in asserting their rights. 

During all their history, the colonists acknowledged 
Claims of the themselves subjects of England, and suc- 
Coionies. cessively proclaimed the Commonwealth 

and the sovereigns who followed it. They admitted 
the authority of Parliament in general legislation, and 
adopted the English statutes and the common law as 
far as their local circumstances made it possible to do 
so. They were willing to defend the person and terri- 
tory of their sovereign against foreign enemies to the 
extent of their means. 

On the other hand, they claimed, that, in emigrating 
to America, they had not forfeited any of the rights of 
English subjects. Foremost of these were those con- 
ferred by Magna Charta, trial by jury, and the writ of 
habeas corpus. Beside these, they claimed the right of 

140 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 141 

making their own laws, not repugnant to laws of Eng- 
land, through their representatives freely chosen ; and 
especially they insisted, as Englishmen, that no tax 
should be imposed upon them but such as they freely 
voted in their local assemblies. Massachusetts, through 
all her early history, claimed the right of ultimate judi- 
cial decision in all cases whatsoever, and denied the 
legality of appeal to any English authority. 

The sovereigns of the Stuart family, who had little 

respect for the rights of Englishmen at „ ,. , „. 

» i, i -n i -, English View of 

home, could hardly be expected to treat American 

these claims of their American subjects Claims - 
with much more consideration. They had some pretext 
for their arbitrary measures in the complaints and peti- 
tions that were continually urged upon their notice. 
The restrictive policy of the Massachusetts colonies made 
them many enemies. The friends of Episcopacy com- 
plained that the acts of supremacy and uniformity were 
set at naught ; Baptists and Quakers, that they were 
persecuted and banished ; Mason and Gorges, that 
their authority had been usurped, and their chartered 
rights infringed ; Rhode Island, that Massachusetts was 
grasping and bigoted ; and the London merchants, that 
the navigation acts were openly violated. All united 
in the assertion that the people of Massachusetts Bay 
were disloyal, and only waiting a favorable opportunity 
to dissolve their allegiance, and set up for themselves. 
In consequence of these calumnies, Massachusetts lost 
her original charter ; but her misfortune was soon shared 
by all the northern colonies. When, under James II., 
popular government ceased to exist in England, all 
colonial rights were suspended. 

Soon after the accession of William and Mary, a more 



142 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

definite policy was adopted. Previous to this time, the 
control of American affairs had been in the hands of 
Restrictive Colo- the privy council of the king, or of 
nial Policy. commissioners appointed by that body. 
About 1700 Parliament took control of the adminis- 
tration of the colonies, and began a series of restrictive 
measures designed to cripple colonial industry, and 
increase the dependence of the provinces upon the 
mother country. 

The navigation acts had always been a source of 
Navigation trouble between the two countries. In 
Acts - 1651 the Long Parliament, aiming a blow 

at Dutch commerce, enacted that no goods should be 
imported into England but in English ships, or in ships 
belonging to the nation where the goods were pro- 
duced. This statute was not enforced against the colo- 
nists. The first parliament after the Restoration 
re-enacted this law with most important additions. It 
was ordered that no merchandise should be imported 
into the colonies but in English vessels navigated by 
Englishmen. Such American products as would not 
compete with those of England were forbidden to be 
exported to any but English ports. Sugar, tobacco, 
ginger, indigo, cotton, and dyewoods were included in 
this class. Other articles which might also be pro- 
duced in England could only be sold in ports south of 
Cape Finisterre. Soon another law required that all 
European commodities imported into the colonies 
should be in English ships from England. The colo- 
nists were thus compelled to buy and sell in England, 
in order to build up the interests of English merchants. 
Officers were stationed in the colonial ports to enforce 
these regulations. The first attempt to cripple the 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 143 

manufacturing interest of the colonies was by a statute 
of William III., forbidding the exportation of wool and 
woollen goods out of the colonies, or from one colony to 
another. Next the manufacture of hats was forbidden ; 
and in 1733 a heavy duty was imposed upon the pro- 
ducts of the West Indies imported into the colonies. 
Meanwhile the royal governors were in frequent collis- 
ion with the colonial assemblies. In Massachusetts, 
there were long disputes about salary. The General 
Court insisted upon voting the governor's allowance 
annually, and regulated its amount by his disposition 
towards them. In New York, freedom of the press was 
the principal question at issue. 

In 1764 the celebrated Declaratory Resolves were 
presented in the House of Commons. Declaratory 
These resolutions announced the intention Resolves, 
of the government to raise a revenue in the colonies by 
a stamp tax. This met with the most strenuous oppo- 
sition from the colonists ; and when, in the next year, 
the Act passed, it occasioned the first open resistance. 
The story of the next ten years is too familiar to be 
repeated here. The opposition of the colonies only 
served to strengthen the determination of the British 
government ; and, as the scheme of taxation became 
more and more fully developed, the purpose of the 
colonists to resist acquired definiteness, and became 
nearly universal. 

When the coercive measures of the goverment forced 
the colonists into the war of the Revolu- p r0 gress of In- 
tion, the royal officers were obliged to dependence, 
withdraw. This necessitated temporary arrangements ; 
and in all the colonies provisional governments were 
established. During the year 1775, while the country 



144 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

was everywhere preparing to resist the forces of the 
British government, the thought of independence was 
not tolerated. To defend their rights until reconcilia- 
tion could be effected, and arbitrary measures repealed, 
was the only purpose of the mass of the colonists. But 
when all their petitions had been disregarded, or treated 
with contempt ; when the king had publicly proclaimed 
them rebels, had said in private, "I am unalterably de- 
termined at every hazard, at the risk of every conse- 
quence, to compel the colonies to absolute submission," 
and when he had hired German troops to carry out this 
purpose, — the tone of public sentiment changed ; and 
throughout the country the one subject of thought was 
independence. 

Several months elapsed before the minds of the 
people were fully prepared for the impor- 
tant step; and at the last moment there 
was a strong party which thought the time had not 
come. Meantime, one by one, the several colonial 
assemblies gave their voice for independence. Ban- 
croft says, " Comprehensive instructions reaching inde- 
pendence, though not using the word, had been given 
by Massachusetts in January; by South Carolina in 
March ; by Georgia, April 5 ; North Carolina on the 
fourteenth of April expressly declared in favor of inde- 
pendence ; Rhode Island, May 14 ,• Virginia, May 
15 ; Connecticut, June 14 ; New Hampshire, June 
15 ; New York, June 21 ; Pennsylvania, June 28 ; 
Delaware, June 15. In May the assembly of Vir- 
ginia instructed her delegates in Congress to propose a 
declaration of independence ; and accordingly, on the 
seventh of June, Richard Henry Lee proposed the fol- 
lowing resolution : " That these United Colonies are and 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 145 

of right ought to be free and independent states, that 
they are absolved from all allegiance to the British 
crown, and that all political connection be- Resolution 
tween them and the state of Great Britain Proposed, 
is and ought to be totally dissolved." This resolu- 
tion was discussed on the eighth, postponed until the 
eleventh, and then postponed three weeks, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to prepare a formal declaration 
meantime. 

On the first of July, the resolution came before Con- 
gress again for discussion. The vote was Resolution 
taken on the next day, and twelve colonies Adopted, 
voted in favor. New York did not vote. On the two 
succeeding days, Congress discussed the draft of a decla- 
ration which Jefferson had written for the committee, 
and on the fourth it was adopted by twelve States. 

(For copy of Declaration see Appendix.) 



PART III. 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 
OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

FORMATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. — THE LEGISLA- 
TIVE DEPARTMENT. 

FORMATION OF CONSTITUTION. 

During all the troubles between the colonies and 
the home government, Massachusetts had been espe- 
cially prominent. She thus brought upon herself the 
earliest and most severe coercive measures of the crown. 
Her commerce was destroyed by the famous Port Bill ; 
and British troops were sent to awe her people. 

When these measures failed to stifle the spirit of 
independence, the king in 1774 procured 
the passage of what is known as the egu a mg 
Regulating Act ; which not only essentially changed 
the form of government established by the charter, but 
struck a heavy blow at some of the fundamental safe- 
guards of civil liberty. This act vested the appoint- 
ment of councillors in the king, and of all judicial 
officers in the governor. The governor and council 
were empowered to appoint sheriffs, by whom jurymen 
were to be selected. Town meetings were forbidden to 
be held without the consent of the governor. At the 
same time, another law provided that persons might 
be transported to England for trial. It was found 
impossible to carry these measures into execution. No 

149 






150 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

persons could be found to serve as jurymen ; and the 
administration of justice was suspended. Gradually 
the people were being driven into independence. The 
colony asked the advice of the Continental Congress, 
and were counselled to avoid hasty measures, and to be 
guided by events. 

In October, 1774, the governor had called for an 
Provincial election of deputies, but had dissolved 

Congress. the court before the time of meeting. 

The body met, notwithstanding, in Salem, and organ- 
ized itself into a provincial congress with John Han- 
cock as president. This body took into consideration 
the affairs of the province, and appointed an executive 
committee called " The Committee of Safety." 

After the battle of Lexington, Massachusetts again 
Provisional Gov- called upon the Continental Congress for 
emment. advice. The people of the country were 

not ready for independence ; and the Congress was 
unwilling to advise Massachusetts to set up a new 
government. It therefore recommended that the 
people choose representatives according to the terms of 
their charter, who should choose a council to govern 
the State until a royal governor might be appointed 
who should carry out the provisions of the charter. 
Such a governor never appeared ; and the council ad- 
ministered the affairs until 1780. 

In that year, a convention of delegates, chosen by the 
Adoption of Con- people, prepared a constitution, which was 
stitution. ratified by a popular vote. In October, 

1780, the new constitutional State government was 
organized, with John Hancock as governor. The State 
has since been governed under this constitution with 
such amendments as have from time to time been made 
to it. 



FORMATION OF CONSTITUTION. 151 

The constitution is preceded by a preamble, which 
states the object of government, and the 
nature and duties of the body politic. It 
declares that government is for the people, and should 
therefore be by the people. This preamble is followed 
by a very complete declaration of rights. 
Starting with the assertion that " all men are 
born free and equal," it declares the right of self-govern- 
ment ; the accountability of officers to the people ; the 
right to freedom in electing and being elected ; the 
right of personal protection ; freedom from taxation 
without consent of people ; the right to free, complete, 
and prompt justice ; to trial by jury, and in the vicinity 
where the subject events happen ; to security from un- 
reasonable search and seizure of person and papers ; 
liberty of the press ; liberty to keep and bear arms for 
the common defence ; subordination of military to civil 
authority; the right of the people peaceably to assem- 
ble, and to petition the legislature ; freedom of speech 
in the legislature ; freedom from excessive bail and 
fines, and from cruel and unusual punishments ; exemp- 
tion from quartering soldiers, and from martial law. 
It is also declared that judges should hold office during 
good behavior, and that the departments of govern- 
ment should be distinct, " to the end it may be a 
government of laws, and not of men." 

It will be observed that these rights are the same 
that had been asserted by Magna Charta, by the Peti- 
tion of Right, and by the Bill of Rights signed by 
William and Mary. They had been contended for by 
Englishmen during six hundred years, and by the 
American colonists for a century and a half. 

The second part of the constitution treats of the 



152 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

frame of government. It declares the name of the 
body politic to be the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

The legislative department retains the name by 

which it has been known from the days 
General Court J 

and its of the company charter. It is still called 

Branches. the General Court? and con sists of a 

Senate and House of Representatives. It is invested 
with full powers to constitute courts of justice, to enact 
laws, to provide for the election and 
appointment of officers whose election is 
not provided for in the constitution, and to prescribe 
their duties, and to levy taxes. 

The Senate consists of forty members. Each mem- 
Senate, Mem- ^ er must have been an inhabitant of the 
bersof. Commonwealth for five years, at least, 

immediately preceding his election, and at the time of 
his election must be an inhabitant of the district for 
which he is chosen. If he cease to be an inhabitant of 
the State, he ceases to be a senator. 

In every tenth year from 1865, a census is taken of 
the inhabitants and voters in each city 
and town in the State. The General 
Court, at its first session after the census, divides the 
State into forty districts of adjacent territory in such a 
way that they contain as nearly as possible an equal 
number of voters, yet without dividing a town, or ward 
of a city, and generally without uniting parts of two 
counties in one district. Each district elects one senator. 

A vacancy in the senate is filled by election by the 

people of the district, upon the order of a 
Vacancies. 

majority of the senators elected. 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 153 

A quorum for doing business consists of a majority 

of the members, though a less number 

■ ., , . p Quorum, 

may organize temporarily, adjourn irom 

day to day, and compel the attendance of absent mem- 
bers. 

The house of representatives consists of two hundred 

and forty members. Each must have been TT 

J # .... House of Repre- 

an inhabitant of the district which he rep- sentatives. 

resents for at least one year next preceding em ers of * 

his election, and ceases to represent the district if he 

ceases to be an inhabitant of the Commonwealth. 

At the first session of the legislature after the census, 
the representatives are apportioned to the 
counties according to the number of voters 
in each. Then the county commissioners, or a special 
board chosen for the purpose, divide the county into 
districts, without dividing any town, or ward of a city. 
These districts elect a number of representatives accord- 
ing to the number of voters they contain ; but no district 
elects more than three. Thus the number of districts 
is not the same as the number of representatives. 

When a vacancy occurs in the representation of any 
district, the Speaker of the house orders a 
new election by the people at a specified 
time. 

A quorum consists of a majority of members; but 

a less number may meet as in the sen- 

^ Quorum, 

ate. 

Each house is the final judge of the election and 

qualification of its own members : that privileges of 

is, if a question arises between two or each House. 

more persons as to which is legally elected to either 

house, the members of that house, after proper investi- 



156 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

journal of the house, to prepare a calendar of all mat- 
ters in order for consideration by the house, and to read 
all bills and communicatioDS that may come before the 
house for its action. Having gone so far, notice is sent 
to the governor and to the senate that the house has 
organized, and is ready for business. On the same day, 
or soon, a chaplain is chosen, who opens the daily ses- 
sion with prayer. 

The senate organizes in a similar way in its own 
chamber, the members being duly qualified as in the 
house. Its presiding officer is called the President. 
The two houses then choose a sergeant-at-arms, whose 
duties are, to execute all orders of either house ; to pre- 
serve order, and prevent interruption of the business of 
the houses ; to have general charge of the State House, 
superintending repairs, and seeing that all parts of it 
are in proper order for the use of the government ; to 
appoint and oversee watchmen and firemen in the State 
House ; and to appoint doorkeepers and messengers to 
each house of legislation. 

At the beginning of the annual session, the presiding 

officer of each body appoints certain stand- 
Committees. J rr 

ing committees, whose work it is to con- 
sider the matter presented to either house, and report 
what action is proper. Beside these, there is a large 
number of what are called joint standing committees, 
composed of members from both branches. There are 
committees upon banks, education, insurance, street 
railways, railroads, towns, and many other subjects. 
Frequently a special committee is appointed to consider 
a matter of temporary interest. 

Mode of Making We sna H next notice how laws are made. 
Laws. xhe Constitution requires three things to 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 157 

be done to make a law. A measure must receive a 
majority vote in each branch of the legislature, and 
be approved by the governor. If he objects, he may 
return the bill with his objections to the house in 
which it originated. This house must The Veto 

enter his objections in full upon its records, Power, 

and proceed to reconsider the bill. If two-thirds of 
this branch vote for the measure, it is sent to the other 
house ; and, if this also assent by a two-thirds vote, 
the measure becomes a law without the approval of 
the governor. If he does not return the bill within 
five days, it becomes a law, unless the legislature pre- 
vent his returning it by adjourning. This power of the 
governor to withhold his approval from any measure is 
termed the veto 1 power. As he cannot really prevent 
a bill from becoming a law, the veto is said to be not 
absolute, but qualified. The governor's veto, however, 
has great weight and it rarely happens that a bill is 
enacted against his objection. 

When the General Court begins its session, subjects 
for legislation are presented to it in three introduction of 
ways. The governor, in an address to the Business, 
two branches, describes the condition of public affairs, 
and points out in what directions legislative action is 
necessary or desirable. Messages from the governor 
are referred to appropriate committees which may report 
thereon by bill, or otherwise. A second mode of intro- 
ducing business is for an individual member to present 
a resolve or a bill, or an order, which he may do at any 
time with the consent of the house. A large part of 

1 Veto, Latin, I forbid. This was the word by which the Roman 
tribunes refused their assent to a law which they disapproved. It was 
an absolute prohibition. 



158 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the business comes before the legislature in the form of 
petitions from the people. Thus a number of persons 
ask permission to establish a savings bank, a town asks 
leave to change its name, a man wishes to use a certain 
water-privilege. These petitions are generally pre- 
sented through a member of the legislature, and the 
petition is ordinarily accompanied by a bill, embodying 
the legislation prayed for. 

To save the time of the house, all these matters, 
Mode of Pro- ^ n their crude form, are referred to the 
ceeding. appropriate committees, to be by them 

considered and reported on, either favorably or other- 
wise, as they think best. Thus the representative 
from the town of Greenland presents a petition to the 
General Court, signed by a part of his townsmen, praying 
that the name of the town may be changed to Sahara. 
The petition is at once referred to the joint standing 
committee on towns. This body gives public notice, 
that, at a certain time and place, it will hear all parties 
interested in the matter. After listening to the peti- 
tioners, opportunity is given to any person to remon- 
strate; and then the committee decides whether the 
change is desirable. If a majority decide in the affirm- 
ative, a bill is reported, which begins, " Be it enacted 
by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Court assembled, and by the authority of the same," 
and declares that the name of the town of Greenland 
shall, after a certain date, be changed to Sahara. 

If the committee is opposed to the bill referred to it, 
it reports that the petitioners have leave to withdraw, 
or that the bill ought not to pass. The adverse report 
of the committee is not conclusive, as the house may 
substitute the bill for the unfavorable report, and, in 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 159 

that case, the bill is dealt with as if originally reported 
by a committee. If a bill or resolve involving an ex- 
penditure of public money or a grant of public property 
is reported by a committee, it is referred to another 
committee, called " the Committee on Ways and 
Means." This committee considers the financial fea- 
tures of the bill, and reports in its turn. In this 
way such measures are subjected to a double scrutiny. 
The rules of each house provide that every bill shall 
have three separate readings, no two of which shall be 
on the same day. 1 The bill being reported by a com- 
mittee, if no objection is made, it goes into the orders 
of the next day, unless some other time is specially 
assigned for its consideration. When it is reached in 
course, the title is read, each member being provided 
with a printed copy of the bill. This is its second 
reading ; and the question for the house to decide is, 
whether it shall have a third reading. At this time, 
the discussion occurs on the merits of the bill ; and 
amendments may be proposed, which may be acted on 
at once, or may be sent to the committee to be consid- 
ered by them. If a majority vote in favor of ordering 
a third reading, the bill goes to a committee on such 
bills, whose business is to see that the bills are cor- 
rectly drawn. When the bill is reported back by this 
committee, the house is called to vote on ordering the 
bill to be engrossed. This is also a debatable stage in 
the progress of the bill. If this vote is in the affirma- 
tive, the bill is sent to the other house, where it goes 
through a similar process. If it is ordered to be en- 
grossed by this house also, it is given to an engrossing 

1 This rule is sometimes suspended so that a bill may pass through 
two or more stages on the same day. 



160 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

clerk, who copies it in a fair, round hand, on parchment. 
After examination by a committee, if found to be cor- 
rectly engrossed, it is enacted by the house of repre- 
sentatives, and then by the senate. 

The details of the proceeding are regulated by the 
rules of each house, and by the general principles 
of parliamentary law. 1 If the second house amend the 
bill, it goes back to the house in which it originated, 
where a vote is taken on concurring in the amendment. 
If the two houses cannot agree on amendments, a com- 
mittee of conference may be appointed, which endeav- 
ors to make the measure satisfactory to both parties. 
After a bill has passed both houses, the clerk of the 
senate lays it before the governor for his approbation, 
which he expresses by his signature. 

After each session of the General Court, the secre- 
Publication of tary °^ the Commonwealth causes all the 
Laws - acts and resolves 2 which have become 

laws to be bound and preserved. He also causes to be 
printed copies of the general laws and resolves, and 
distributes through the towns a sufficient number to 
furnish one copy to each family or eight inhabitants. 

From time to time, the laws of the State are revised 
Revision of » by a board appointed for the purpose. The 
statutes. whole body of laws, as they present it, is 

then enacted by the General Court like any bill, and 

1 Parliamentary Law comprises those general rules which regulate 
the conduct of business in legislative assemblies, and in all meetings 
for deliberative action. 

2 The Province Charter of 1691 required that all acts of the General 
Court should be sent to England for the approval of the king. To avoid 
this inconvenience, the legislature frequently passed measures in the 
form of resolves, which were not subject to the same requirement. The 
practice has been continued, though now resolves are subject to the 
same rules as other bills. 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 161 

published for distribution. Such revisions have been 
made in 1836, 1860, 1882, and 1901. The latest revi- 
sion and the annual volumes subsequently printed 
contain the general laws of the Commonwealth in force 
at any time. Such special acts as apply only to indi- 
viduals or corporations are not included in the revision, 
but are published separately. 

Beside the ordinary legislation, the General Court 
has the initiative in changing the constitu- Amending the 
tion of the Commonwealth. An amend- Constitution, 
ment to the constitution is introduced into the 
legislature and referred to a committee like any other 
bill. In order that any article may become valid as a 
part of the constitution, it must be proposed by the 
General Court, and agreed to by a majority of the 
senators, and two-thirds of the representatives present 
and voting. It must then be entered on the journals 
of the two houses, with the yeas and nays, then re- 
ferred to the next General Court, and published. The 
same proportion of the members of the next General 
Court must agree to it ; and then it must be submitted 
to the people, and be approved by a majority of the 
legal voters at meetings called for the purpose in the 
various cities and towns. Thirty-six articles of amend- 
ment have been ratified by the people. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
THE GOVERNOR. 

The supreme executive power is vested in a magis- 
trate called the Governor of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts; and his title is His Excellency. He is 
chosen annually by the legal voters of the State. He 
must have been an inhabitant of the Commonwealth 
for seven years next preceding his election. 

On the first Wednesday of January, the secretary of 
Induction into the Commonwealth lays before the Senate 
0ffice - and House of Representatives the returns 

of election that have been sent from the several towns 
and cities. These bodies examine them, and declare 
who is elected governor. After the organization of the 
houses is complete, they meet in convention in the 
representatives' hall. The president of the senate 
occupies the chair, and administers to the governor 
elect the three oaths required by the constitution, the 
same that are taken by the members of the General 
Court. After being thus qualified, the governor deliv- 
ers an address, as has been before stated. 

The governor has authority to call together the 

council at his discretion, and is required to hold 

meetings of the council from time to time 

emorri.To as the interests of the Commonwealth 
hold Council. j -, 

demand. 

162 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 163 

The governor has certain powers respecting sessions 
of the General Court, which he exercises 

with advice of the council. 1. If the court Sessions of Gen- 

• • • j 4/u 4- -U j • 'j. eral Court, 

is m session, and the two houses desire it, 

and can agree upon a time, the governor may adjourn * 
or prorogue the court until that time. 2. If the two 
houses cannot agree as to the necessity or time of ad- 
journment, the governor may adjourn or prorogue the 
court for such time as he thinks best, but not exceed- 
ing ninety days. 3. He may call a special session at 
any time when he thinks the public good requires it. 
4. If from the prevalence of disease, or for any other 
cause, the governor thinks it unsafe for the court to 
meet in the usual place, he may change the place at his 
discretion. 

The governor is the commander-in-chief of the mili- 
tary force of the State, having full power 3 As command- 
respecting its instruction and discipline. er " in -ciiief. 
He may call out the troops, and lead them in case of 
invasion or insurrection, and may order out such por- 
tions as may be necessary to suppress riots, and to aid 
in enforcing the laws. 

He has power, with advice of the council, to pardon 
offences against the Commonwealth, after 
persons have been convicted of the same ; 
but this power does not extend to cases of impeach- 
ment. The pardoning power includes the right to 
remit a portion of the punishment, and to make such 
conditions and restrictions as are deemed best. 



1 Adjourn. — As used in England, this word signifies to continue a 
session of parliament from day to day, while prorogue means to continue 
the parliament from one session to another. The words have essentially 
the same meaning in the constitution of Massachusetts. 



164 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The governor has power to appoint all judicial offi- 

5. To Appoint cers, medical-examiners, and notaries- 
Officers, public. There are also numerous boards 
and commissions established by the legislature, the 
members of which are appointed by the governor. In 
case of appointments, the consent of the council is re- 
quired, and the governor must nominate a person at 
least seven days before the appointment. The commis- 
sions to military officers are issued by the governor. 

The governor's warrant, drawn by consent of the 

6. Warrant for counc i^ is required for the payment of 
Money. anv money out of the treasury of the 
Commonwealth. These general powers are conferred 
by the constitution. There are numerous others con- 
nected with the details of administration, which are 
conferred by the General Court. 

The constitution provides that the governor shall have 
an honorable stated salary, of fixed and 
permanent value, established by standing 
laws, and amply sufficient to make him independent in 
his actions, to enable him to give the necessary time to 
the affairs of the State, and to maintain the dignity of 
the Commonwealth. 

THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

There is annually elected a Lieutenant-Governor, 
whose title is His Honor. His qualifications are the 
same as those required of the governor ; and he is 
elected and sworn at the same time and in the same 
way. He is a member of the council, and, in the absence 
of the governor, presides over its sessions. In case the 
chair of the governor is vacant by reason of death, or 
absence from the State, or otherwise, the lieutenant- 



THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. 165 

governor performs the duties of the governor, and has 
all the powers which the constitution confers upon that 
officer. 

THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. 

Eight councillors are annually elected by the people of 
the State. After each census, the legis- 
lature divides the Commonwealth into 
eight districts, each comprising five contiguous sena- 
torial districts ; and one councillor is elected in each. 
He must have been an inhabitant of the Common- 
wealth five years next preceding his election. The 
members of the council take the required oaths at the 
same time as the governor. Vacancies in the council 
are filled by concurrent vote of the senate and house 
of representatives, or by the governor, if the legislature 
is not in session. 

The duty of the council is to advise the governor in 
the administration of the government ; and 
its advice is recorded and signed. Its con- 
sent is required to all executive appointments, and to 
warrants drawn for the payment of money. If, for any 
reason, there is a vacancy in the offices of governor and 
lieutenant-governor, a majority of the council have full 
power to do all that those officers might do. The 
council holds a regular meeting once a 
week. The governor, or, in his absence, 
the lieutenant-governor, presides. 

SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH. 



The Secretary of the Commonwealth is chosen annu- 
ally by the people. He must have been an 
inhabitant of the State five years next pre- 



164 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The governor has power to appoint all judicial offi- 

5. To Appoint cers, medical-examiners, and notaries- 
Officers, public. There are also numerous boards 
and commissions established by the legislature, the 
members of which are appointed by the governor. In 
case of appointments, the consent of the council is re- 
quired, and the governor must nominate a person at 
least seven days before the appointment. The commis- 
sions to military officers are issued by the governor. 

The governor's warrant, drawn by consent of the 

6. Warrant for counC1 ^ is required for the payment of 
Money. anv money out of the treasury of the 
Commonwealth. These general powers are conferred 
by the constitution. There are numerous others con- 
nected with the details of administration, which are 
conferred by the General Court. 

The constitution provides that the governor shall have 
an honorable stated salary, of fixed and 
permanent value, established by standing 
laws, and amply sufficient to make him independent in 
his actions, to enable him to give the necessary time to 
the affairs of the State, and to maintain the dignity of 
the Commonwealth. 

THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 

There is annually elected a Lieutenant-Governor, 
whose title is His Honor. His qualifications are the 
same as those required of the governor ; and he is 
elected and sworn at the same time and in the same 
way. He is a member of the council, and, in the absence 
of the governor, presides over its sessions. In case the 
chair of the governor is vacant by reason of death, or 
absence from the State, or otherwise, the lieutenant- 



THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. 165 

governor performs the duties of the governor, and has 
all the powers which the constitution confers upon that 
officer. 

THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. 

Eight councillors are annually elected by the people of 
the State. After each census, the legis- 
lature divides the Commonwealth into 
eight districts, each comprising five contiguous sena- 
torial districts; and one councillor is elected in each. 
He must have been an inhabitant of the Common- 
wealth five years next preceding his election. The 
members of the council take the required oaths at the 
same time as the governor. Vacancies in the council 
are filled by concurrent vote of the senate and house 
of representatives, or by the governor, if the legislature 
is not in session. 

The duty of the council is to advise the governor in 
the administration of the government ; and 
its advice is recorded and signed. Its con- 
sent is required to all executive appointments, and to 
warrants drawn for the payment of money. If, for any 
reason, there is a vacancy in the offices of governor and 
lieutenant-governor, a majority of the council have full 
power to do all that those officers might do. The 
council holds a regular meeting once a 
week. The governor, or, in his absence, 
the lieutenant-governor, presides. 

SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH. 

The Secretary of the Commonwealth is chosen annu- 
ally by the people. He must have been an 
inhabitant of the State five years next pre- 



166 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ceding his election. If the office becomes vacant during 
a session of the General Court, it is filled by joint ballot 
of the senators and representatives. If the vacancy 
occurs at any other time, it is filled by appointment by 
the governor. The secretary is sworn with the gov- 
ernor and council. 

The duties of the secretary are, to keep the records 

of the Commonwealth, to attest the signa- 
Duties. . . s 

ture oi the governor on commissions and 

proclamations, and to affix thereto the state seal, of 
which he is the custodian. He also keeps the laws of 
the Commonwealth, and publishes them as has been 
stated. He submits to the General Court the reports 
of the various departments of the government, and 
publishes them as required by law. He furnishes to 
officers of the courts, and to certain county and town 
officers, blanks which they are required to fill out, and 
return to him, showing what has been done throughout 
the State by these subordinate officers in their several 
spheres. He also provides and issues the proper blanks, 
ballots, ballot-boxes and other apparatus used at elec- 
tions. The results of elections are recorded at his 
office. Many statistics of public interest are also re- 
corded by him. He has the power to appoint such 
deputies and clerks as the duties of the office make 
necessary. 

TREASURER AND RECEIVER-GENERAL. 

The provision of the constitution for the election, 
qualifications, and oath of the Treasurer is 
the same as for the secretary ; and a va- 
cancy in his office is filled in the same way as in the 
other. 



AUDITOR. 167 

This officer receives all money accruing to the State 
from taxation or otherwise ; keeps all notes, 
bonds, and other securities which are the 
property of the Commonwealth ; negotiates such loans 
as are authorized by the legislature ; pays the interest 
on the debts of the State ; and pays out such sums as 
the governor, with consent of the council, draws his 
warrant for. With the approbation of the governor 
and council, he invests the school fund. He has the 
custody of the weights, measures, and balances which 
are by law made the standard in the Commonwealth, 
and furnishes copies of them to the treasurer of each 
county, city, and town. He has power to employ such 
clerks as are necessary. No man is eligible to the office 
of Treasurer for more than five successive years. 

AUDITOR. 

The Auditor is chosen annually by the people under 

the same constitutional provision respecting 

,.„ ,. l , -, ^ & Election, 

election, qualifications, oaths, and vacancy, 

as the secretary and treasurer. Like them he may em- 
ploy such assistance as is necessary, and like them also 
he is required to make to the legislature an annual re- 
port of his department with a detailed account of the 
expenses of the same. Thus the General Court con- 
trols the expenditure of the State. 

It is the duty of the auditor to examine all accounts 
and demands against the State, and to pre- . 

pare a certificate of each, stating the amount 
due and the law authorizing its payment. On receiving 
this certificate, the governor draws his warrant for the 
money. Hence, to get money from the treasury of 
the Commonwealth, the following steps are necessary : 



168 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

(1) an appropriation by act of the General Court; 
steps in Draw- (2) an examination of the account by the 
ing Money. auditor, and the issue of his certificate ; 

(3) the signature of the governor, with consent of the 
council, to a warrant drawn on the treasury; (4) the 
presenting of the warrant to the treasurer. 

Another duty of the auditor is, to keep an account of 
public receipts and expenditures, a , state- 
ment of the school fund and other public 
property, and of all debts due to and from the Common- 
wealth. In his annual report, he gives a full statement 
of the financial condition of the Commonwealth, and an 
estimate of the income for the following year. It is 
also his duty annually to examine the accounts of the 
treasurer. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

Besides the secretary, treasurer, and auditor, the 
people annually elect an Attorney-General, having the 
same qualifications as the others, and, like them, receiv- 
ing for his services an annual salary determined by the 
legislature. His duty is, to appear for the Common- 
wealth in the supreme judicial court in all cases in which 
the Commonwealth is a party, and in such cases before 
any other court or tribunal when directed by the gov- 
ernor or either branch of the General Court. When 
public interest requires it, he also appears for the gov- 
ernment in prosecutions for capital crime in the supe- 
rior court. 

He gives his opinion in writing upon all questions of 
law submitted to him by either branch of the legislature 
or by the governor and council. He advises the district 
attorneys in the discharge of their duties. He consults 
with the other executive officers, and advises them in 



BOARDS AND COMMISSIONERS. 169 

matters pertaining to their official duties. He makes an 
annual report to the legislature of the cases conducted 
by him during the preceding year, with observations 
and suggestions upon the law of the State. He ap- 
points several assistants. 

BOARDS AND COMMISSIONERS. 

In the administration of the public business, it is 
impossible for the governor immediately to superintend 
all the departments. Much of the work of supervision 
is committed to boards created by acts of the legisla- 
ture, and consisting of persons appointed by the gov- 
ernor, and responsible to him. 

The Board of Education consists of the governor and 
lieutenant-governor, and eight persons ap- B 0ar( i f Edu- 
pointed by the governor, each holding office cation, 
eight years, and retiring each year in the order of 
appointment. The board has the supervision of the 
normal schools of the State. It also prescribes the 
form of registers to be kept in the public schools, and 
the form of blanks for school statistics ; and annually 
reports to the legislature the condition of education 
within the State, with suggestions for improving it. 

The board appoints a secretary, whose duties are, to 
collect information respecting the schools 
of the State, to diffuse throughout the 
State information as to the best means of improving 
the schools, to visit different parts of the State in order 
to awaken public interest in education, to preserve all 
documents relating to the educational interests of the 
State, to attend educational meetings. The board also 
appoints one or more agents, whose work is similar 
to that of the secretary. The secretary and agents 



170 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

annually hold teachers' institutes in different parts of 
the State, for the purpose of illustrating to teachers im- 
proved methods of instruction. The members of this 
board have no compensation for their services. The 
secretary and agents have salaries fixed by law. 

The Board of Agriculture consists of the governor, 
Board of Agri- lieutenant-governor, and secretary, three 
culture. persons appointed by the governor, and 

one person appointed by each agricultural society of 
the State, and the president of the agricultural college. 
One-third of the appointed members retire annually, 
the term of service being three years. The duties of 
the board are, to learn how agriculture may be im- 
proved, and to make an annual report thereon. The 
board has power to fix the day on which the agricul- 
tural societies in the State may begin their exhibitions. 
The board appoints a secretary to visit the towns for 
the purpose of acquiring and giving information re- 
specting the various departments of husbandry. This 
officer has a salary ; but the members of the board 
receive no compensation. 

The Board of Health consists of seven persons, ap- 
Board of pointed by the governor for a term of seven 

Health. years each. The general duties of this 

board concerning the public health are described in the 
following statute : " The board shall take cognizance of 
the interests of health and life among the citizens of 
this Commonwealth. They shall make sanitary investi- 
gations and inquiries in respect to the people, the causes 
of disease, and especially of epidemics and the sources 
of mortality, and the effects of localities, employment, 
conditions, and circumstances on the public health ; and 
they shall gather such information in respect to those 



BOARDS AXD COMMISSIONERS. 171 

matters as they may deem proper for diffusion among 
the people. They shall advise the governor in regard 
to the location of any public institution." This board 
is entrusted with the enforcement of the laws against 
the adulteration of foods and drugs. It has also gen- 
eral supervision, with reference to their purit}^, of ponds 
and streams used as sources for public water supply. 

The State Board of Insanity consists of five persons 
appointed by the governor for the term of Board of 

five years, one retiring annually. The insanity, 

board has general supervision of State hospitals and 
asylums for the insane, and all other institutions for 
insane or feeble-minded patients, either public or pri- 
vate. Two at least of the members must be experts in 
insanity. The board has power to investigate cases of 
commitment to asylums for alleged insanity, and may 
discharge persons whom it adjudges not to be insane, 
or who can be otherwise safely cared for. All ques- 
tions as to the sanity of inmates of penal institutions 
of the Commonwealth are referred to this board for de- 
termination. The board appoints agents and subordi- 
nate officers. 

The Board of Charity consists of nine persons ap- 
pointed by the governor. It has general Board of 
supervision of State almshouses and simi- Chanty, 
lar State institutions. The board also has charge of 
children found by the courts to be neglected by their 
parents, or growing up under circumstances exposing 
them to lead idle and dissolute lives. Good homes 
are found for such children if possible. 

The Board of Prison Commissioners consists of three 
men and two women, appointed by the gov- prison Com- 
ernor for a term of five years, one retiring missioners. 



172 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

annually. Their duties are, to superintend the classi- 
fication and transfer of convicts, and to make rules and 
regulations for their discipline and employment, to in- 
spect the jails and houses of correction of the State, 
and to make an annual report to the legislature. They 
have the general supervision of the State prison for 
men at Boston, the State reformatory for men at Con- 
cord, and the State reformatory for women at Sher- 
born, and make all needful rules and regulations for 
the management. They also, through an agent ap- 
pointed for the purpose, seek to aid discharged con- 
victs. This board has a secretary, who is a member 
and the executive officer, and who alone receives a 
salary. 

The Board of Railroad Commissioner's consists of 
Railroad Com- three members appointed by the governor 
missioners. f or three years, one retiring annually. 
The duties are stated generally in the following statute: 
" Said commissioners shall have the general supervision 
of all railroads and railways, and shall examine the 
same, and keep themselves informed as to their con- 
dition, and the manner in which they are operated, 
with reference to the security and accommodation of 
the public." The commissioners are required to give 
notice to railroad corporations of any improvement 
which they think necessary to be made, to hear com- 
plaints of towns and cities against such corporations, 
and to investigate the cause of accidents. They may 
recommend and require the use by railroads and street 
railways of various appliances necessary to the safety 
of travellers and employees. The corporations are re- 
quired to furnish to the commissioners any information 
concerning their business which they may demand. 



BOARDS AND COMMISSIONERS. 173 

The board also regulates to a certain extent the issue 
of stocks and bonds by the railroad companies. The 
members of this board receive salaries, which, together 
with all expenses, are assessed upon the corporations 
operating railroads within the State, in proportion to 
their income and profits for the year. 

The Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners con- 
sists of three persons appointed by the Harbor Com- 
governor for a term of three years, one nussioners. 
retiring annually. This board has "the general care 
and supervision of all the harbors and tide-waters, 
and of all the flats and lands flowed thereby within 
the Commonwealth, in order to prevent and remove 
unauthorized encroachments, and causes of every kind 
which are liable to interfere with the full navigation 
of said harbors, or in any way injure their channels, or 
cause any reduction of their tide-water." The board is 
authorized to direct in the building of bridges, wharves, 
and piers over tide-waters, and in the filling of flats ; and 
no such work can be commenced until the plans are 
approved by the commissioners. The board also has 
general care and supervision of the Connecticut River 
within the limits of the Commonwealth. The members 
of the board receive a salary for their services, and their 
travelling expenses are also paid. An annual' report is 
made to the legislature. 

The Board of Gas and Electric Light Commissioners 

consists of three members appointed by the m a , 

^ r J Gas and Elec- 

governor for the term of three years, trie Light Com- 

This board has general supervision of all 

corporations engaged in the manufacture and sale of 

gas for lighting and fuel and in the sale of electric light. 

The board has the power to order any such company to 



174 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 

reduce the price or improve the quality of the gas or 
electricity furnished to its consumers. The issue of 
stock by gas and electric companies is regulated by this 
commission, and such companies are required to make 
annual reports to the commission. The members receive 
an annual salary. 

An Insurance Commissioner is appointed by the gov- 
Insurance ernor for a term of three years. He is 

Commissioner, required to ascertain by personal exami- 
nation the condition of all insurance companies doing 
business in the State ; for which purpose he has free 
access to their books and papers. If any company 
appears to be insolvent, it is the duty of the commis- 
sioner to take proper legal measures to compel it to 
close its business. He furnishes blanks for the insur- 
ance returns, keeps a statement of the condition of 
each company, and makes an annual report to the legis- 
lature of the conduct and condition of the corporations 
examined, with suggestions concerning legislation. He 
receives an annual salary. 

The Board of Commissioners of Savings Banks con- 
sists of three members appointed by the 
Board of Com- „ 4-4.1 V™ 

missioners of governor lor a term 01 three years. Ihey 

avings an s. are re q U i re( j to visit every savings bank in 
the State at least once in each year, and to examine 
thoroughly all its affairs. They have authority to in- 
spect and examine trust companies and similar institu- 
tions. They keep a statement of the condition of each 
of these banks, and make an annual report thereof to 
the legislature. They are authorized to take measures 
to close the affairs of any such corporation which seems 
not to be able to meet its obligations. They receive an 
annual salary. 



BOARDS AND COMMISSIONERS. 175 

A Tax Commissioner, who also holds the office of 
commissioner of corporations, is appointed Tax 
by the governor for the term of three years. Commissioner. 
As tax commissioner, his duties are largely connected 
with the taxing of corporations. He also furnishes 
information and advice to the assessors of cities and 
towns. As commissioner of corporations, he supervises 
the forming of corporations under the general laws of 
Massachusetts. He also receives and records reports as 
to the capital, officers, and other data concerning foreign 
corporations doing business within the Commonwealth. 

The Board of Arbitration and Conciliation consists of 
three members appointed by the governor Board of 
It is their duty to try to adjust disagree- Arbitration, 
ments and to aid in bringing about harmonious relations 
between employers and employed. 

The Board of Bar Examiners examines and determines 
the fitness of all persons applying for the Bar 
right to enter the practice of law. Examiners. 

The Board of Registration in Medicine, the Board of 
Registration in Dentistry, and the Board Boar( j s f 
of Registration in Pharmacy perform simi- Registration, 
lar duties in the cases of persons applying for the right 
to follow the profession of medicine or dentistry or the 
occupation of a pharmacist respectively. All these 
boards are appointed by the governor, \vith the excep- 
tion of the Board of Bar Examiners, the members of 
which are appointed by the Justices of the Supreme 
Courts. 

The commission consists of three persons appointed 
by the governor for the term of three Highway 
years. It is their duty to construct high- Commission, 
ways in different parts of the State, and to collect use- 



176 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ful information regarding road-making for the use of 
counties, cities, and towns, with the general purpose of 
improving the highways of the Commonwealth. The 
members of this commission receive annual salaries. 

The rapid increase of the population of Boston and 
Metropolitan the cities and towns immediately surround- 
Commissions. ^ n g j^g resu ited in a congested condition 
which has made it necessary to take concerted action 
to meet certain common needs in this thickly settled 
area, such as a system of sewerage, an adequate water 
supply, and parks. As this could not be done by the 
various municipalities without great lack of uniformity 
and constant conflict of authority, the legislature has 
provided for the establishment of a water and sewerage 
system for the joint use of a number of cities and 
towns within a radius of about ten miles of the city of 
Boston. This area is commonly called the Metropolitan 
District. These systems were constructed by boards 
appointed by the governor. The Metropolitan Water 
System and the Metropolitan Sewerage System are now 
under the control of a board called the Metropolitan 
Water and Sewerage Board, which consists of three 
members who are appointed by the governor and receive 
salaries. The Commonwealth has also provided for the 
construction and maintenance of parks and boulevards 
within this so-called metropolitan district, and these 
seashore and forest reservations are under the care and 
control of the Metropolitan Park Commission, which 
consists of five members appointed by the governor for 
the term of five years. 

In addition to those that have been described, various 
commissions of a temporary nature are created from 
time to time. There are also various inspectors ap- 



BOARDS AND COMMISSIONERS. 177 

pointed by the governor to see that the laws of the 
State are obeyed. Among them are the inspectors of 
gas, fish, leather, and lumber. The several lunatic 
hospitals, and correctional and reformatory institutions, 
have each a board of trustees, or of inspectors, appointed 
by the governor. 

This body consists of a chief, and a number of offi- 
cers, appointed by the governor for three 
years. There is a detective department 
and an inspection department. The members of the 
detective department have the general powers of police 
officers. They are required to aid the attorney-general, 
district attorneys, and magistrates in procuring evidence 
for the detection of crime and in the pursuit of criminals. 
The governor may call upon them to aid in preserv- 
ing the peace. All local police officers are required to 
aid the State force in the discharge of their duties. It is 
the duty of the members of the inspection department 
to enforce the law as to the employment of women and 
minors in manufacturing, mechanical, and mercantile 
establishments, and the law as to ventilation and sani- 
tation of factories and workshops. The members of 
the force receive annual salaries from the Common- 
wealth, and are forbidden to receive rewards or gifts 
on account of official services. 

The word " militia " means a body of armed citizens 
trained to military duty, who may be called 1!he Militia — 
out in certain cases, but may not be kept in Defi 111 * 1 ^ 11 - 
service like standing armies, in time of peace. The 
Constitution of the United States forbids any State to 
keep troops in time of peace ; but it allows the estab- 
lishment of a militia. The militia of Massachusetts is 
of two kinds, described as enrolled and active. 



178 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The enrolled militia consists of all able-bodied male 
Enrolled citizens, resident within the State, of the 

Militia. a g e f eighteen years, and under the age 

of forty-five years, except idiots, lunatics, common 
drunkards, vagabonds, paupers, and convicted crimi- 
nals, and a large number of persons holding office under 
the State and under the United States. Physicians, 
clergymen, judges and clerks of courts, sheriffs, fire- 
men, railway conductors and engineers, and telegraph 
operators are also excepted. Quakers and Shakers, 
having conscientious scruples against bearing arms, are 
exempt. This enrolled militia is not subject to active 
duty, except in case of war, invasion, or riot. Then 
the governor may order out by draft or otherwise such 
numbers as he considers necessary, and organize them 
according to the laws of the Commonwealth. 

The active militia is composed of volunteers. In 
case of war, invasion, riot, or to aid civil 
officers in executing the laws, this force is 
first ordered into service. At the time of the great 
fire in Boston in November, 1872, and in other similar 
cases, a part of the militia was ordered out to aid the 
civil officers in protecting property and preserving the 
peace. The various volunteer companies are scattered 
over the State, having armories for meeting and drill 
in the cities and larger towns. The companies are 
gathered into regiments and brigades. A portion of 
the volunteer militia is trained in the duties of seaman- 
ship for naval service. . The militia is organized and 
disciplined according to United States regulations ; 
but it is officered and trained under the laws of the 
Commonwealth. 

The volunteer militia as such can be called upon for 



BOARDS AND COMMISSIONERS. 179 

State duty only, and is subject only to the orders of the 
State authorities, and cannot be ordered beyond the 
limits of the Commonwealth. When in 1861 and 1898 
the President of the United States called for troops, 
the first to volunteer were members of the active mi- 
litia. After being mustered into the service of the 
United States, the State regimental organizations were 
preserved in great extent, the officers continuing to 
serve in the same rank as before. 

The governor exercises his power as commander-in- 
chief through his staff, which consists of 
a number of military officers, all appointed 
by himself. The election or appointment of other offi- 
cers is regulated by law ; but all commissions are issued 
by the governor. 

The State provides such uniforms, arms, and equip- 
ments as are necessarv ; but thev remain 

_ Equipments, 

the property of the State, and can be taken 

away at any time. The expense of armories for the 
various companies is also borne by the State. The mi- 
litia is obliged by law to spend a prescribed amount of 
time in drill and camp-duty ; for which time compensa- 
tion is given by the Commonwealth according to law. 
To preserve the peace, the militia may be ordered out 
by the governor, or, in certain cases, by the mayor of a 
city, a justice, or a sheriff. 

It will be seen that the military force of the Com- 
monwealth is under the direction and control of the 
governor, and is therefore a branch of the executive 
department. But, since all appropriations for its sup- 
port must be made by the General Court, it can never 
become an instrument of tyranny. Thus the legislative 
department holds a check upon the governor. 



180 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 
SUMMARY. 

The executive department is thus constituted : — 

His Excellency the Governor, 

His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor, 

The Council, 

The Secretary of the Commonwealth, 

The Treasurer and Receiver-General, 

The Auditor, 

The Attorney-General, 

The Governor's Staff, 

The Board of Education, 

The Board of Agriculture, 

The Board of Health, 

The Board of Insanity, 

The Board of Charity, 

The Board of Prison Commissioners, 

The Board of Railroad Commissioners, 

The Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners, 

The Board of Gas and Electric Light Commissioners, 

The Insurance Commissioner, 

The Board of Commissioners of Savings Banks, 

The Tax Commissioner, 

The Board of Arbitration and Conciliation, 

The Board of Bar Examiners, 

The Boards of Registration in Medicine, Dentistry, and 

Pharmacy, 
The Highway Commission, 
The Metropolitan Commissions, 
The District Police, 
The Militia. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

The Constitution gives to the legislature the power 
to constitute such courts of justice as may power to Estab- 
be necessary. The judicial department lish - 
consists of a number of such courts established by 
statute, and having their powers carefully defined. 

The judges are appointed by the governor, with the 
consent of the council. They hold office 
during good behavior, but may be re- 
moved by the governor, with consent of the council, 
upon the address of both branches of the legislature 
or by impeachment. 

The Supreme Judicial Court consists of one chief 
and six associate justices. Four justices supreme Judi- 
constitute a quorum. Sessions for the cial Court - 
decision of questions of law, called law sittings, are 
held in Boston, and in some of the counties; five jus- 
tices sit at these sessions ; and sessions for the trial of 
causes by jury, called jury sittings, are held by a single 
justice at prescribed times in each county. 

The Superior Court consists of a chief and seventeen 

associate justices. The sittings, and places 

J & r Superior Court, 

lor holding its sittings, are prescribed by 

law; but at least two sittings are held annually in each 

181 



182 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

county. This court has original jurisdiction 1 of all 
crimes and misdemeanors, and appellate 2 jurisdiction of 
all offences tried and determined before a police court, 
a district court, or trial justices. In criminal causes, 
its decision is final, unless exceptions are taken to some 
decisions of law. It has also appellate jurisdiction over 
a large number of civil causes, and original jurisdiction 
over some. Certain causes may be removed from this 
court to the Supreme Court on appeal, on questions of 
law, and on motion, when the amount in controversy is 
large. Trials for capital crimes are held in the Supe- 
rior Court before a jury and two justices. This court 
also has jurisdiction in cases of divorce. 

In each county of the Commonwealth, a Probate 
Court is established by law. It consists of 
a judge, 3 appointed as are other judicial 
officers. The times and places of holding the court 
session are fixed by law. These courts have jurisdic- 
tion of the probate 4 of wills, and administration of 
estates, 5 of the appointment of guardians to minors and 
others; of all matters relating to the settlement of 



1 Original jurisdiction, authority to take the first steps in a legal pro- 
cedure. 

2 Appellate jurisdiction, authority to reconsider, by a new trial, causes 
that have been determined by another court. A demand for such new 
trial is called an appeal. 

3 The counties of Suffolk and Middlesex have each two judges. ' 

4 The probate of a will is the proof before the proper officer that an 
instrument purporting to be the last will and testament of a deceased 
person is really such. The carrying out the provisions of the will is 
intrusted to a person, or persons, named in the instrument as executors. 

5 Administration, the settlement of the estate of a deceased person 
who has left no will. The deceased in such a case is said to have died 
intestate ; and an administrator is appointed by the judge of probate, 
usually on petition. If no executor is named in a will, an administrator 
is appointed. 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 183 

estates of deceased persons and wards ; of petitions for 

adoption of children, and change of name; and of 

petitions for partition of real estate among tenants in 

common. Appeals may be had to the Supreme Judicial 

Court on questions of law and some questions of fact, 

that being the supreme court of probate. In certain 

cases appeals on questions of fact may be had to the 

Superior Court. 

Police Courts are established in certain cities and 

large towns ; each consisting of a -justice, 

, & . f J , ' Police Courts, 

who receives an annual salary, and two 

special justices, who hold courts in the absence of the 
justice, and receive compensation for actual service. 
Daily sessions are held for criminal causes. These courts 
have jurisdiction in civil causes where the amount at 
issue does not exceed one thousand dollars, and in crim- 
inal causes where the law allows but a small fine or a 
short imprisonment. In all these cases, appeals are 
allowed to the Superior Court. 

District Courts are established in different parts of 

the Commonwealth, having" the same num- 

, c . ,. n ,, . . ,. ,. District Courts. 

ber oi justices, and the same jurisdiction, 

as the police courts. Each district consists of a group 
of towns ; and the times and places for holding the ses- 
sions are prescribed by law. 

This court has jurisdiction to the amount of two 
thousand dollars, has a chief justice, seven Municipal Court 
associates, and two special justices ; has of Boston - 
jurisdiction over the central portion of the city, and is 
called the Municipal Court of the City of Boston. 
There are a number of Municipal District Courts in 
the outlying districts of Boston, each having jurisdic- 
tion over its particular section. Each of these courts 



184 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

has one justice and two special justices, and about the 
same jurisdiction as police courts. 

The Court of Registration consists of a judge and 
Court of Kegis- an assistant judge, each appointed by the 
tration. governor. This court also has a clerical 

officer called a recorder. The Court of Registration 
has power upon application of a person owning land in 
Massachusetts to cause an examination to be made of 
his title to the land, and if after examination and upon 
proper proceedings the court is satisfied that the appli- 
cant possesses a good and valid title to the land in ques- 
tion, it registers and confirms his title thereto. 

Justices of the peace once formed a large and impor- 
Justices of ^ant class of judicial officers. They are ap- 
the Peace. pointed by the governor, with consent of 
the council, for a term of seven years, and may be re- 
appointed. They have authority to administer oaths in 
all cases required by law, and a few justices are spe- 
cially authorized by the governor to join persons in mar- 
riage. When specially commissioned to do so, they 
may issue warrants and summonses and may take bail. 
These are only fragments of the powers once possessed. 
In earlier days in England and Massachusetts they had 
authority to cause the arrest of disturbers of the peace, 
to try them and pass sentence on them, or in the case 
of aggravated offences to hold them for trial by a higher 
court. They also had authority to try small civil 
causes. Since the population has become more dense, 
the municipal and district courts have taken the more 
important functions. 

A certain number of justices of the peace in each 
county are commissioned as trial justices 
for a term of three years. In addition to 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 185 

their functions as justices of the peace, they have crimi- 
nal jurisdiction of such offences as breaches of the 
peace, petty larcenies and trespass, gambling, and in 
general those to which the statutes affix a fine not ex- 
ceeding fifty dollars, or an imprisonment not exceeding 
six months. They have civil jurisdiction in cases 
where the amount is very small. 

Each of the courts that have been described, except 
trial justices, and some of the district Clerk of 

courts, has a clerk whose duties are, to Courts. 

attend its sessions, to preserve its papers, to keep a 
record of its proceedings, and to issue writs in its name. 
The clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for the Com- 
monwealth is appointed by that court for a term of five 
years. An assistant clerk is also appointed in the same 
way for three years. In each county a clerk of courts 
is elected once in five years. He acts as clerk of the 
Supreme Judicial Court for its terms in the counties, 1 
as clerk of the Superior Court, and as clerk of the 
county commissioners. The clerks of the district, 
police, and municipal courts are appointed by the gov- 
ernor for a term of five years. 

Attorneys-at-law are officers of the courts. They 
are employed to manage civil and criminal 
causes for the parties concerned in them. 
In Massachusetts, an attorney must be either a citizen 
of the State, or an alien who has declared his intention 
of becoming a citizen. He must be an inhabitant of 
the State, at least twenty-one years of age, and of good 
moral character. He must have a sufficiently extensive 
knowledge of law to pass an acceptable examination 
before the Board of Bar Examiners. 

i Except in Suffolk. 



MH 



186 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

A person desiring to be admitted to practice must 
Admission to a PPty t° the Superior or Supreme Judicial 
Practice. Court, and must in open court take and 

subscribe oaths to support the Constitution of the 
United States and of the Commonwealth, and the fol- 
lowing oath of office : " You solemnly swear that you 
will do no falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in 
court ; you will not wittingly or willingly promote or 
sue any false, groundless, or unlawful suit, nor give aid 
or consent to the same; you will delay no man for 
lucre or malice ; but you will conduct yourself in the 
office of an attorney within the courts, according to the 
best of your knowledge and discretion, and with all 
good fidelity, as well to the courts as your clients. So 
help you God." Attorneys may be removed by the 
court for deceit, malpractice, or other gross misconduct. 

Connected with the Supreme Judicial Court is an 
officer called a Reporter, who is appointed 
by the governor and council, and remov- 
able' at their pleasure. He is required to attend the 
court personally at all the law terms and capital trials, 
and to make true reports of decisions on all legal ques- 
tions argued by counsel. These reports contain what 
has before been spoken of as court-law, in distinction 
from statute-law. 

The Commonwealth is divided into eight districts 
District Attor- ^ or ^ ne administration of criminal justice ; 
ne y s - and in each of these a District Attorney is 

elected by the people once in three years. These offi- 
cers appear for the Commonwealth to prosecute cases in 
the superior criminal courts. They aid the attorney- 
general in capital cases, and in arguing exceptions in 
other criminal cases. 



JURIES. 187 



JURIES. 



A jury is a body of men sworn to declare the facts 
of a case from the evidence and the law presented to 
them. The qualifications of jurors, their duties and 
privileges, and the manner in which they are called to 
service, are regulated by statutes. 

In Massachusetts, all persons qualified to vote for 
representatives to the General Court are 
liable to be called as jurors, excepting cer- 
tain classes legally exempted. These are State, county, 
and national officers, professional men, bank-cashiers, 
militia-men, and firemen and persons more than sixty- 
five years of age. Persons are not liable to service as 
jurors oftener than once in three years ; except in Nan- 
tucket and Dukes Counties, where they may be called 
to service once in two years. 

The selectmen of each town and the registrars of voters 
in cities annually prepare a list of such per- , Ligt and 
sons not exempt, as they think qualified to Box. 
serve as jurors, being persons of good moral character 
and sound judgment. This list includes not less than 
one for every hundred, and not more than one for every 
sixty inhabitants. The list is posted in public places 
for at least ten days, after which it is presented to the 
town at a meeting, for revision and acceptance. Names 
may be added or taken off by vote of the town. After 
acceptance by the town, the names on the list are written 
each on a separate paper. These are then folded with the 
name inside, and placed in a box kept for the purpose. 

Previous to the beginning of each sitting of the Su- 
preme and Superior Courts, the clerk issues a writ to 
the sheriff, calling from each town and city a number of 



188 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

jurors in proportion to its inhabitants. This writ is 
served on the town clerk and selectmen, 
and Drawing These officials then meet ; and one of the 
selectmen proceeds to draw from the box 
as many papers as are required. If any person whose 
name is drawn is exempt by law, or unable to attend on 
account of sickness or absence, or has served as juror 
within three years, his name is replaced, and another 
drawn. When the name is drawn, and the person 
serves, the date of drawing is indorsed upon the 
paper ; and it is then returned to the box. The con- 
stable notifies persons whose names are drawn, and 
informs them of the time when the court begins its 
session. Thirty jurors are summoned to each session. 
A person neglecting to attend, when legally drawn and 
summoned, is liable to a fine. 

In cities the mayor and aldermen exercise the powers 
of the town in the revision of jury lists and the draw- 
ing of juries. 

A Highway Jury consists of twelve men, drawn in 

the usual way for the purpose of deciding: 

Highway Jury. / r . r f 

questions ot damage in connection with 

the laying-out or alteration of roads. Such a jury is 

called at the request of parties aggrieved by a decision 

of the county commissioners. Upon a petition for a 

jury, these officers issue a warrant to the sheriff to 

summon the requisite number from the three nearest 

towns. In certain cases, where parties are dissatisfied 

with orders of selectmen regarding buildings considered 

as nuisances, and regarding steam-engines, and in cases 

connected with the flowage of lands, juries such as have 

last been described may be called to decide the matter. 

This is commonly called a Sheriff's Jury. 



OUTLINE OF JUDICIAL PROCEDURE. 189 



OUTLINE OF JUDICIAL PROCEDURE. 

An illustrative example will serve to show the rela- 
tion of the various branches of the judi- 
ciary department to each other and to the 
public. Every action or suit at law supposes two 
parties : one, called the plaintiff, who brings the charge 
upon which the action is based ; the other, called the 
defendant, against whom the charge is brought. 

Suits at law are either civil or criminal. A civil 
action has for its object the restoration of classes of 

property, the recovery of private rights, Actions, 

or compensation for their infraction. Such are suits 
brought to recover a debt, or to obtain money for an 
injury sustained upon a highway. A criminal action 
has for its object the punishment of an individual for a 
violation of law. In such actions the government is 
always the plaintiff; the person complaining of the 
wrongful act is called the complainant. Civil actions, 
if successful, result in the payment of money or the 
restoration of property or rights by the defendant to 
the plaintiff. Criminal actions, if successful, result in 
the infliction of a penalty upon the defendant : either a 
fine paid to the government, or imprisonment, or both. 

We will proceed to notice the ordinary steps in the 
conduct of a criminal action. Suppose Criminal 

that in some town in the Commonwealth Actions. 

a man enters a store in the daytime and steals there- 
from a watch. In course of the judicial proceedings, 
that might arise, the complaint would be first in order. 
This would be a written instrument, stating formally, 
but specifically, the name and residence of 
the person accused, the nature of the crime 



190 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

itself, with the time and place of its commission, and 
requesting that he be apprehended for trial. This 
must be sworn to by the complainant before some trial 
justice or court ; and he must offer some evidence for 
his suspicion against the person accused. This com- 
plaint is the foundation of the whole course of pro- 
ceeding. 

The justice next issues a warrant. This is a com- 
mand to the sheriff of the county, or his 
deputy, or any constable of the town, to 
apprehend the person named in the complaint, and 
bring him before some trial justice or court to answer 
to the complaint. The warrant specifies the offence, 
and also directs the officer to summon certain persons 
as witnesses against the defendant. If the offence is a 
trivial one, the defendant may be summoned to appear 
in court without arrest. 

The officer, having made the arrest, appears before 

the justice with his prisoner, and makes a 

return of his warrant. This is a short state- 
ment of the manner in which the command has been 
executed. It is written on the back of the instrument, 
and signed by the officer. A detailed account of 
charges is also rendered. 

The justice then appoints a time for the examination, 

and the accused may be admitted to bail ; 

that is, he may be delivered to persons who 
give security that he shall appear at the specified time, 
to answer to the complaint. These persons are said to 
recognize, or give a recognizance, which is a written ob- 
ligation to pay a certain sum of money if a specified 
condition is not complied with. If the accused can 
find no person willing to become surety for his appear- 



OUTLINE OF JUDICIAL PROCEDURE. 191 

ance, lie is kept in custody, or the sureties may sur- 
render him to the authorities at any time. 

Meanwhile, at his request, the justice issues what is 
called a subpoena to each of such persons as 
the defendant wishes to testify in his 
behalf. This instrument requires the individual named 
to appear at a certain time and place, to give evidence 
in the case. The names of the complainant and of the 
defendant are specified. 

At the appointed time, the accused is brought before 

the -justice. If the value of the property 

, . , ,-, , . , r . Jurisdiction. 

stolen is less than a certain amount speci- 
fied by statute, the justice has final jurisdiction ; that 
is, he may, if the crime is proved, pass sentence, and 
make the necessary orders for carrying it into effect. 
If the value is greater than the legal limit, the justice 
examines the accused, and, if the evidence is sufficient, 
requires him to give a recognizance to appear before 
the Superior Court to await the action of the Grand 
Jury. In this case, the justice has only initial jurisdic- 
tion. 

The parties being in the presence of the justice, the 
arraignment takes place. The defendant 
rises ; the justice or clerk reads to him the 
complaint, and asks him what he says to it, — "Guilty," 
or "Not guilty." His answer is the plea. 
If he pleads " Guilty," sentence may be 
passed at once. If he pleads " Not guilty," evidence is 
then presented tending to prove his guilt. 

The witnesses for the government are called, and 
standing, and raising their right hands, 
swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, 
and nothing but the truth. They are then called sepa- 



192 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

rately ; and each tells what he knows of the case. 
After this examination of the witness, he is cross-exam- 
ined, as it is called, by the counsel for the defendant ; 
whose aim is, to destroy the effect of his testimony by 
involving him in contradictions, or by showing his inca- 
pacity. After all the evidence is presented against the 
party, the witnesses for the defence are called and 
sworn, and examined separately, first by the defend- 
ant's counsel, then by the representative of the govern- 
ment. 

When all the evidence upon both sides has been 
Arguments of heard, the counsel for the defendant pro- 
Counsel, ceeds to make an argument in his favor 
based upon the evidence adduced. This argument is 
frequently, but improperly, called a plea. 

The justice, having heard the evidence and the argu- 
ment, considers the case, and passes judg- 
ment upon it. He declares the defendant 
guilty, and pronounces the sentence ; or not guilty, 
and releases him. 

The penalty may be a fine and costs. The statutes 
determine the limit of the fine, and regu- 
late the charges which are included under 
the title "costs." These are, the fees of the justice 
unless he has a salary, of the officer for serving the 
warrant and summons, and of the witnesses. 

In case the fine and costs are not paid, the convicted 

man may be committed to jail until they 

Commitment. . J J , J 

are paid, or lor a specified number of days 

if he is unable to pay. 

This would end the proceedings in a district or po- 
lice court; but, if the defendant is not 
satisfied with the decision, he may appeal 



OUTLINE OF JUDICIAL PROCEDURE. 193 

to the Superior Court. In this case, he is required to 

bring sureties, who give their recognizance for him 

to appear before the higher court to prosecute his 

appeal. This would secure him a new trial before a 

jury. The features of a jury trial will now be presented. 

In the case that has been considered, if the crime 

had been beyond the jurisdiction of the 

. . . . Examination, 

justice, an examination 01 the witnesses 

would have taken place. If the justice thought that 
the evidence afforded probable cause to believe him 
guilty, he would require him to furnish bail for his 
appearance at the next term of the higher court ; or, if 
he could not find bail, would commit him to jail mean- 
while. The justice or clerk would then send the com- 
plaint, with a record of the proceedings thereon, to 
the Superior Court. 

Previous to the beginning of a criminal term of the 
Superior Court, twenty-three of the per- 
sons who have been drawn as jurors, being 
those first drawn, present themselves before the judge 
who is to hold the court, and take an oath, diligently, 
and without fear or favor, to inquire into such cases as 
may be brought before them, and to keep their delibera- 
tions secret. This body is the Grand Jury. The court 
gives it directions as to its duties. The members 
choose a foreman and a clerk. 

The district attorney prepares a formal accusation 

against the person whom Ave have sup- 

, , ' . , Indictment, 

posed under recognizance to appear at the 

Superior Court. This instrument is called an indict- 
ment, and specifies the name and residence of the party, 
and the crime with which he is charged. Witnesses 
in support of the charge are sworn and heard, but 



194 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

none for the defence. If twelve of the jury agree that 

the person should be brought to trial, the foreman 

indorses upon the indictment the words, " A true bill," 

and signs it. If the jury think there is not sufficient 

ground for the accusation, the foreman writes, "Not 

found," and signs it. This instrument forms the basis 

of action in the Superior Court, as the complaint does 

in the lower court. 

When the time arrives for the trial, a list of twelve 

jurors is read by the clerk, the names being: 

Challenge. J J ' * 

drawn trom a box. Exception may be 

taken to any of these by the accused or by the govern- 
ment, on the ground of character, incompetency, or 
prejudice. This objection is called a challenge. The 
accused may challenge two jurors peremptorily ; that is, 
without assigning cause. Other names are substituted, 
until the number twelve is complete. Each member 
then swears that he will well and truly try the issue 
between the Commonwealth and the defendant, accord- 
ing to the law and the evidence. This body is called 
a petit jury. Its business is to hear the evidence, and 
then decide whether the accused is guilty, or not, of 
the crime specified in the indictment. 

The steps in the trial are similar to those in the 
lower court, 1 — the arraignment, the plea, the testimony, 
the arguments. After the case has been presented to 
the jury by both sides, the judge makes 
his charge to the jury, in which he explains 
the law bearing upon the case, and indicates to them 
the principles that should guide them in making their 
decision. 

1 In the Superior Court all criminal cases are prosecuted by the dis- 
trict-attorney, and are tried by jury. 



OUTLINE OF JUDICIAL PROCEDURE. 195 

The jury then retire, in charge of the sheriff, for con- 
sultation. They are kept by themselves 

.. ,, , " xl . . . TJ!il Verdict. 

until they make up their opinion. Ii they 

are unanimous in that opinion, they return to the court- 
room, where the foreman announces the verdict ; which 
must be "Guilty,*' or "Not guilty." If the jury can- 
not agree after long deliberation, they may be dis- 
charged ; in which case, a new trial would be necessary. 
If the verdict is " Guilt}Y' the court pronounces the 
sentence which the law requires. If the verdict is 
•* Xot guilty," the person can never be tried again for 
the same offence. 

If the penalty is imprisonment, the person is com- 
mitted to the sheriff to be lodged in the 
designated place of confinement ; if a fine, 
legal steps are taken to secure its payment. 

The case may not end here. During the trial, objec- 
tions may have been made to the admis- 
sion of certain evidence. The judge has 
ruled that it may be admitted. The counsel takes ex- 
ceptions to the ruling of the judge. If the judge allows 
the exceptions, they are properly framed, and go to the 
full bench of the Supreme Judicial Court at a law term : 
where arguments are made by the counsel on both 
sides. If the court sustains the ruling of the judge, 
the case is remanded to the Superior Court for sentence. 
If the ruling is not sustained, a new trial is had at 
some future term of the Superior Court. 

There is more diversity in procedure in civil than in 

criminal actions. A simple case may serve 

Civil Actions, 
to illustrate the chief points of difference 

between them. Suppose a man has sold merchandise 

to the value of a hundred dollars, for which he has 



196 CIVIL GOVEKNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

received no pay. He purposes to sue for the recovery 

of the debt. The first step is to obtain a 

The Writ. writ. This is an order to a sheriff or other 

officer, directing him to attach the property 
Attachment. . 

of the debtor to a specified amount, and to 

Summons. summon the debtor to appear before the 

justice at a certain time and place, to an- 
swer to the demand of the plaintiff. The officer, in 
obedience to this writ, takes possession of the property, 
and holds it in custody until judgment upon the case 
has been rendered by the court. The writ may also 
direct the arrest of the party, if the plaintiff has made 
affidavit according to law before a designated officer, 
and received from him a certificate authorizing the 
arrest of the defendant. In certain cases, a man may 
escape or be released from arrest by taking what is 
called " the poor debtor's oath," or an oath that he does 
not intend to leave the State. These oaths, and the 
manner of taking them, are prescribed by statute. Each 
writ specifies the day on which it shall be returned ; 
and this return is made, as in the case of the warrant, 
by an indorsement by the officer, stating what he has 
done. 

The next step in the process is the pleading. This 
is a formal and legal statement of the 
facts which constitute the plaintiff's cause 
of action, followed by a similar statement of the facts 
which constitute the defendant's ground of defence. 
Thus the plaintiff may declare the time and mode of 
the sale, and the quality and amount and value of the 
goods. The defendant may deny the purchase, or 
assert that payment has been made in whole or in part, 
or on some other ground plead against the obligation. 



IMPEACHMENT. 197 

When some fact is asserted by one party, and denied 
by the other, an issue is thereby made, and 
the trial begins. Witnesses are called, 
sworn, and testify first for the plaintiff, then for the 
defendant. The arguments follow, and then the judg- 
ment. If the justice decides for the plaintiff, and the 
debt is not paid, a writ of execution is issued. 

This directs the officer to take of the property of the 

defendant, and obtain such sums as are 

. (. t Execution, 

necessary to satisfy the judgment and the 

expenses. This is usually done by sale by auction. If 
the sale produces more than the amount required, the 
balance is paid to the owner. As in criminal actions, 
appeal may be taken to a higher court, where the steps 
would be similar, except that the jury would decide 
upon the question at issue if a jury trial was claimed by 
either party. It will be seen that the terms " attach- 
ment " and " execution " belong exclusively to civil 
actions. 

IMPEACHMENT. 

In the Constitution of Massachusetts, as in all the 
States, provision is made for removal from 
public offices by a process called impeach- 
ment. This may be defined as a written accusation 
against a civil officer, made in a constitutional way, for 
maladministration of office. 

Neither the Constitution nor the statutes of Massa- 
chusetts specify what officers may be im- w^o may ^ e 
peached ; but, according to precedent estab- Impeached, 
lished by the Congress of the United States, it may be* 
supposed that those executive officers of the Common- 
wealth who are elected by the people, and all judicial 
officers, are liable to the process. 



198 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Impeachments can only be brought by the house of 
representatives ; and they are tried by the 
senate. If an officer is supposed guilty 
of wrong-doing in connection with his office, the repre- 
sentatives may appoint a committee to investigate. 
This committee may report in favor of impeachment. 
If the representatives so decide, a committee is ap- 
pointed to prepare articles of impeachment, and pre- 
sent them to the senate. 

The articles having been presented, the person is 
summoned to appear, and answer to the 
charges. Each senator takes an oath 
" well and truly to try the charges ; " and the trial is 
conducted according to the usual procedure in other 
courts. A majority of the senators present is required 
for conviction. 

Judgment, in case of conviction, may extend to re- 
moval from office, and disqualification to 
hold any office of trust, honor, or profit 
under the Commonwealth. The person is also liable 
to trial and punishment for the crime before the proper 
courts, in accordance with the laws of the State. 



SUMMARY. 

The Judicial Department is constituted as follows: — 

Senate, as a court to try Trial Justices, 

impeachment, Clerk of Courts, 

Supreme Judicial Court, Reporter of Supreme Judi- 
i Superior Court, cial Court, 

Probate Court, Attorneys, 

Court of Registration, Juries. 
Police and District Courts, 



CHAPTER XXI. 

COUNTIES. 

As early as the time of the Saxons, England was 
divided into districts for convenience in 
the administration of justice. The most 
important of these was the shire, as it was called, from 
a Saxon word meaning to cut. The shire was a part cut 
off. In Norman times, the shire took the name county, 
from the word count, a Norman title of nobility. 

For a few years after the settlement of Massachu- 
setts, as we have seen, justice was administered by the 
General Court and the Court of Assistants, and by local 
magistrates in the towns ; but, as soon as the colony 
increased its territory and population, the people 
adopted the English institution of the county, by group- 
ing the towns together, and setting up county courts. 

In 1643 four counties were formed : Suffolk, compris- 
ing Boston and the towns south of it ; Essex, the 
towns east of Boston ; Middlesex, those north of 
Boston ; and Norfolk, consisting of the towns of New 
Hampshire, which had been united to Massachusetts. 
After the separation of the two colonies, those towns 
that came within the Massachusetts line were united to 
Essex ; and the name Norfolk was given to the towns 
comprising the present Norfolk County. 

Previous to the union of Plymouth with Massachu- 

199 



200 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

setts, that colony had established the counties of Plym- 
outh, Barnstable, 'and Bristol. The other counties 
were established as follows : Worcester, in 1731, from 
parts of other counties ; Hampshire, in 1662, comprising 
those towns on the Connecticut early settled from Mas- 
sachusetts Bay ; Berkshire, from Hampshire, in 1761 ; 
Hampden and Franklin, from Hampshire, in 1811 ; 
Dukes, given to the Duke of York in 1664, and joined 
to New York, made a county in 1685, and united to 
Massachusetts by the Province charter ; Nantucket, 
formed in 1695. 

As now constituted in Massachusetts, a county may 

be defined as a corporate body, 1 consisting 

Definition. „ „ ,. r ^ , J . f 

oi a group ot adjacent towns, organized, 

under the direction of the State, for convenience in the 
administration of justice. 

Each county is obliged to own and maintain suitable 

court-houses, jails, and buildings for the 

registry and preservation of deeds, wills, 

and court records. The town in which these buildings 

are situated, and where the courts are held, is called the 

shire town. Some counties have more than one. 

Counties, as such, have no legislative power: hence 
their officers are chiefly executive. The 
number and duty of these officers are pre- 
scribed by law, and are the same throughout the State. 



1 A corporate body, or corporation, is a body consisting of one or more 
individuals, established by law, usually for some specific purpose, and 
continued by a succession of members. This body has a name, and 
under that name may sue and be sued, may hold and dispose of prop- 
erty, may have a common seal, may choose officers, and make by-laws 
for its government and administration. The body may be created by a 
special law called a charter ; or it may organize under some general 
statute. 



COUNTIES. 201 

In each county, three commissioners are chosen by 
the people for three years, one retiring county Com- 
annually ; and two special commissioners missioners. 
are chosen every three years. 1 These commissioners 
are empowered to provide for erecting and repairing 
the county buildings ; to have the care of the county 
property ; to represent the county in suits at law ; to 
apportion the county taxes among the towns ; to lay 
out, alter, and discontinue highways within the county, 
upon petition of parties interested, and after a suitable 
hearing ; to have charge of Houses of Correction in the 
county, appointing the keepers, making rules, and pro- 
viding supplies. If either of the commissioners is per- 
sonally interested in any matter before them, one of the 
special commissioners takes his place for the time. 
Thus a commissioner cannot act upon a highway ques- 
tion within his own town. The salaries of these officers, 
and the time and place of meeting in each county, are 
fixed by statute. 

In each county, a Treasurer 2 is elected by the people 
for a term of three years. He is sworn, 
and gives bonds for the faithful discharge 
of his duties, and receives an annual salary fixed by 
law. The treasurer receives and pays out, under the 
direction of the commissioners, all money belonging to 
the county. This includes that raised by taxation, and 
whatever comes from the payment of fines and costs in 
the various courts. This officer also has the charge of 



1 The aldermen of Boston, and the selectmen of Nantucket, have the 
powers and duties of commissioners in their respective counties. In 
Suffolk, the county buildings are provided by the city of Boston. 

2 The treasurers of the city of Boston and of the town of Nantucket 
act as treasurers of their respective counties. 



202 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

a set of the standard weights and measures furnished 
by the Commonwealth for the use of the county. 

Each county has one or more Registers of Deeds. 
Register of If one » ne * s elected by the people of the 
Deeds. county. If more than one, the county is 

divided by law into districts, in each of which a register 
is elected by the people. The term of office is three 
years. The officers are under oath and bonds. Their 
offices are in the shire-towns ; and their duty is, to 
receive and record, according to methods prescribed by 
law, all deeds and mortgages brought to them for the 
purpose. In the early history of the county, all trans- 
fers of land were made publicly at the county courts to 
prevent fraud. The registry is designed to serve the 
same purpose by making all such transfers a matter of 
record, so that the legal title to any land in the county 
may be readily ascertained. 

In each county, a Register of Probate is elected by 
Register of the people every five years. He has the 
Probate. care f rji books and papers pertaining to 

the business of the probate court. He may receive 
and keep any wills that may be deposited in the office, 
giving a certificate therefor. He is under oath and 
bonds, and is forbidden by law to be interested as coun- 
sel, executor, administrator, or otherwise officially, in 
any matter pending in the courts. In some of the 
counties, an assistant register is appointed by the pro- 
bate judge for a term of three years. 

The oldest county-officer is the Sheriff. In the earli- 
est history of the county, this officer, called 
the shire-reeve^ shared the administration 
of county business with the alderman and bishop. 
Later, the civil functions devolved entirely upon him. 
He presided at the county court, and was responsible 



COUNTIES. 203 

for the public peace. Formerly, in England, he was 

elected by the people ; now he is appointed 

by the king for one year, and during that 

time is the highest personage in the county, taking 

precedence of noblemen. 

In Massachusetts, the people of each county elect a 
sheriff once in three years. He is popu- 
larly termed the high sheriff, and appoints 
deputies, for whom he is responsible. Both the sheriff 
and his deputies are un^er oath and bonds for the faith- 
ful discharge of their duties. 

The Sheriff's first duty is to preserve the peace within 
his county. To this end he may appre- 
hend and commit to prison all persons who 
break the peace. He is bound to pursue and take 
all such criminals as murderers, robbers, i . preserving 
and rioters. He has the safe keeping of Peace, 
the county jail, and is responsible for the custody of 
the prisoners confined therein, the jailer being his dep- 
uty. In the exercise of these duties, the sheriff may 
demand the assistance of the inhabitants of the county. 
Any person who refuses aid when thus called upon is 
liable to fine and imprisonment. As the population 
becomes concentrated in cities and large towns the 
sheriff has less to do in the preservation of the peace, 
that duty being performed by the local police. 

The Sheriff is required to attend all county courts, 
and the meetings of the county commis- 2. Attending 
sioners when so ordered by the Board. Courts. 
During the term of the court, he has charge of the 
prisoners on trial, of the witnesses, and of the juries. 
It is his business to see that the sentence of the court 
is carried into execution, either by collecting the fines, 



204 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

or placing the convicted person in the designated place 
of confinement. The death sentence for capital crimes 
is executed by the warden of the state prison. 

The Sheriff is required to serve, either by himself or 
3. Serving hi s deputies, all writs and processes that 

Processes. mav De lawfully issued to him within his 

county by any of the courts of justice. In obedience 
to an order from the clerk of the court, he summons 
the juries from their respective towns and cities through 
the local constables. 

In each county two or more persons are appointed by 
Medical Exam- the governor to examine the bodies of per- 
iners - sons who are supposed to have come to 

their death by violence. They are called Medical Exam- 
iners and hold office for seven years. If the examiner 
thinks the death was caused by violence he files a copy of 
the record of his examination with the district attorney, 
and another with the district, police, or municipal court, 
or a trial justice. The justice or court then holds an 
inquest to determine by what means the person came to 
his death. This takes the place of the coroner's inquest 
which was formerly held in such cases. An inquest is 
held in all cases of death by accident upon any railroad. 

SUMMARY OF COUNTY OFFICERS. 

Three Commissioners, elected for three years. 
Two Special Commissioners, elected for three years. 
Treasurer, " " " 

Register of Deeds, " " " 

Register of Probate, " " five 

Sheriff, " " three 

Medical Examiners, appointed by governor, seven 



CHAPTER XXII. 

TOWNS. 

In the Saxon period of English history, the freemen 
were grouped into little bodies of ten 
householders each, called tithing s ; and 
these were again united into organizations called hun- 
dreds. The next larger group was the county. These 
smaller divisions were for the more perfect administra- 
tion of justice, each body being responsible for its 
members. If a person had committed a crime, his 
tithing was bound to produce him to the court ; or, 
failing to do so, was required to pay a specified sum of 
money. The effect of this system was to throw the 
burden of local administration directly upon the people 
of the district. Each body had interests peculiar to 
itself; and, to promote these, there must be free dis- 
cussion and choice of individuals to represent them. 
After the introduction of the feudal system, these 
smaller institutions fell into disuse ; but, in the towns, 
the idea of local self-government was retained, and was 
brought to this country by the early settlers of New 
England. 

The people, settling together in different localities, 

formed distinct communities, called plan- 

, „ , - , . . Plantations, 

tations, and, from the beginning, were in 

205 



206 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the habit of meeting to consider matters of common 
interest. Very early, the magistrates came to recog- 
nize these communities as such, defined carefully the 
boundaries of land which each should occupy, and, to 
each community occupying such portion of territory, 
gave a name. The court, from time to time, gave per- 
mission to form new settlements, fixing the boundaries, 
and giving a name. 

The charter gave all power of government to the 
Growth of General Court ; but that body early gave 

Powers. its sanction to a practice which had grown 

up in the towns, of managing their own local affairs 
through men chosen for this purpose, called selectmen. 
From time to time, the towns were empowered to 
choose other municipal officers, and gradually came to 
have those powers and duties which are now defined by 
the general statutes ; but the supreme jurisdiction re- 
mained with the General Court, which has always con- 
sidered the towns as corporations, and prescribed the 
mode in which they should perform their functions. 
It is through the town governments that the State 
brings its authority directly to bear upon the people. 
Its taxes are received by the town collector, its writs of 
election and of judicial process served by town consta- 
bles, and its school-laws executed by town committee- 
men. 

This township system was essentially the same in all 
the New England colonies. Its influence 
has been great. The grouping of the 
people in towns afforded opportunity for frequent in- 
tercourse and exchange of opinion. It made it possible 
to support regular services of public worship, and to 
establish and maintain public schools. The frequent 



towns. 207 

meetings of the freemen of the towns gave to all an 
opportunity to become acquainted with the conduct of 
public affairs, and cultivated a spirit of independence 
in thought and action. In them every man, without 
distinction, was free to make the best use of all his tal- 
ents ; and so they were the schools in which the men 
were trained who were foremost in discussing the great 
questions that preceded the Revolution. At the same 
time, the whole body of the people were prepared to 
judge and act upon these subjects when the occasion 
came. Similar influences have been exerted by these 
organizations to the present time. 

A town is a body corporate, occupying a definite 
portion of territory, and exercising local 
jurisdiction under the control of the State. 

As has been said, the powers of a town are defined 
by general statutes. They are as follows : 
to sue and be sued ; to hold and dispose 
of real and personal property for the public use of the 
inhabitants ; to make such contracts and orders as are 
necessary for the exercise of their corporate powers ; 
to make such by-laws as are necessary for managing 
their affairs, and for preserving peace and good order ; to 
raise money by taxation. 

Money may be raised by taxation for the support of 
town schools, for the care of the poor, for p 
highways, for burial grounds, for maintain- which Money 
ing a fire department, for destroying nox- ma ybe Raised, 
ious animals, for preparing town histories, for public 
libraries, for planting shade-trees, for the preservation 
of the peace and the detection of offenders, for soldiers' 
monuments, for repairing and decorating soldiers' 
graves, for aiding disabled soldiers and sailors and the 
families of the slain, for all other necessary charges. 



208 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Every town is required by law to hold an annual 
Town meeting in February, March, or April. 

Meetings. At this time, the officers are chosen, and 

the annual appropriations made. Other meetings may 
be held at such times as the selectmen may order. 
Every town meeting is held under a war- 
rant signed by the selectmen, directed to 
a constable, requiring him to notify the legal voters of 
the town to meet at a specified place and time, to 
act upon matters specified in the warrant. The con- 
stable, having received the warrant, serves it as the 
by-laws of the town direct, usually by posting attested 
copies of it in several public places, at least seven days 
before the date of the meeting. The constable returns 
the warrant to the town-clerk, indorsing upon it the 
fact that he has served it properly. This warrant, with 
the officer's return, is read at the opening of the meet- 
ing, and forms the legal basis of all the town's action. 
No action is legal upon subjects not specified in the 
warrant. The whole action of a meeting is invalid if 
the warrant has not been served legally. The legisla- 
ture is sometimes called upon to legalize the action of a 
town meeting. Each meeting is called to order by the 
town-clerk, who reads the warrant, and presides during 
the choice of a moderator. This officer is chosen by 
ballot, and acts during the meeting and its several 
adjournments, as the presiding officer. 

TOWN OFFICERS. 

In every town, a clerk is chosen by ballot, and forth- 
with sworn by the moderator or a justice 
of the peace. The clerk is required to 



TOWN OFFICERS. 209 

record all votes passed at the meetings of the town ; to 
administer the requisite oaths to the other officers, and 
to keep a record of the same ; to record the facts respect- 
ing births, marriages, and deaths in the town ; to re- 
cord descriptions of the location of highways ; to record 
the number of votes, and the names of persons voted 
for at elections of State and county officers, and to 
make the necessary returns ; to issue licenses for dogs; 
to deliver registers to the school committee ; to issue 
certificates of intentions of marriage ; to record mort- 
gages of personal property and assignments of wages. 

Every town elects three, five, seven, or nine Select- 
men by ballot. These officers have the 
general charge of the business of the 
town ; and their duties are many and varied. Some of 
the more important are the following: they call town 
meetings ; preside, instead of a moderator, at meetings 
for election of national and State officers, and receive and 
count the votes ; act as a board of health when there is 
none ; appoint men to fill certain minor town offices ; 
lay out town ways ; represent the town in its relations 
to the county and the State, and in suits at law ; grant 
licenses ; have charge of the jury-box and drawing 
jurors ; and act as assessors of taxes, and overseers of 
the poor, if other persons are not specially chosen for the 
purpose. 

Towns may elect three or more Assessors of taxes, 
and, if deemed expedient, three or more 
assistant assessors. These officers are 
required to take an oath to perform their duty 
impartially. The statutes prescribe minutely what 
property is liable to taxation, and the mode of appor- 
tionment. 



210 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Every male inhabitant of the Commonwealth above 
the age of twenty years is liable to a poll- 
tax, which by law cannot exceed two 
dollars. 

The property subject to taxation includes all lands 
Taxable Prop- an d buildings within the State, goods, 
er *y- chattels, money and effects, ships and ves- 

sels, money at interest, and debts due the person more 
than his own indebtedness, stocks and bonds, and in- 
come from employment. 

Some property in the State is exempted from taxation. 
p . This includes the properly of the United 

emptedfrom States and of the Commonwealth, the 
personal property of literary and charitable 
institutions, houses of religious worship, cemeteries 
and tombs, the property of agricultural societies, house- 
hold furniture not exceeding one thousand dollars in 
value, wearing apparel, and farmers' and mechanics' 
tools, two thousand dollars of the income from em- 
ployment, a part of the property of certain widows 
and unmarried females, young cattle ; and the assess- 
ors are allowed to exempt the polls and estates of 
such persons as by reason of age, infirmity, and poverty, 
they judge unable to contribute fully to the public 
charges. 

The poll-tax is assessed annually upon each person, 
Where Taxes in the place where he is an inhabitant on 
are Assessed. ^j ie fi rs £ ^ a y f May. Taxes on real 

estate are assessed in the city or town where the estate 
lies, to the person who is the owner on the first day of 
May. In general, taxes on personal estate are assessed 
to the owner in the city or town where he is an inhabit- 
ant on the first day of May, though there are several 



TOWN OFFICERS. 211 

exceptions to this. The State and county taxes are 
assessed by the town officers, usually with the town 
taxes. The amount to be raised for the town is deter- 
mined by vote at the annual meeting. 

About the 1st of May in each year, the assessors 
give public notice to the inhabitants, re- Mode of Assess- 
questing them to bring to the assessors, ment - 
within a specified time, true lists of their polls and 
estates not exempted from taxation. Persons bringing 
such lists are to make oath that they are true. In case 
any fail to bring the required list, or refuse to be sworn, 
the assessors are to ascertain, as fully as possible, the 
kind and amount of taxable property for which these 
persons are liable. Having completed the inventory of 
the polls and property subject to taxation, the officers 
assess the State and county taxes upon the polls. If 
either of these taxes exceeds one dollar on each poll, 
the excess must be assessed upon property ; and all 
town and city taxes must be assessed upon property 
according to law. When the assessment is finished, 
the assessors make out a list of the names of persons 
taxed, with a description of their property, and the 
amount of the tax. This list is sworn to by the assess- 
ors as being, according to their best knowledge and 
belief, a true list of the property ; and they affirm that 
the assessment thereon is full and accurate. This list 
is given to the collector, with a warrant specifying his 
duties, and when and to whom he shall pay the money 
collected. Any person feeling aggrieved by the assess- 
ment may petition the assessors for an abatement, 
which they may grant for satisfactory reasons. If the 
abatement is refused, and if the person has brought in 
the required list and taken the required oath, he may 



212 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

appeal to the county commissioners, or to the Superior 
Court. 

Each town may choose a collector of taxes. If none 
Collector of is chosen, the constable performs the 
Taxes. duties. This officer gives bonds to the 

town for the faithful discharge of his duties. Having 
received from the assessors the tax-list and the accom- 
panying warrant, it is his duty to collect the taxes. If 
a tax is not paid within a specified time, the collector 
may seize the property, or such portion of it as he 
deems necessary, and, after public notice, may sell it at 
auction, refunding to the owner whatever is received at 
the sale above the tax and costs of collection. If a 
person refuses to pay his tax, and the collector cannot 
find sufficient property for the purpose, he may take 
the person, and commit him to prison, to remain until 
he pays the tax and costs, or until he is released by 
process of law. 

A Treasurer is chosen annually by ballot, who -gives 
bonds for his fidelity, and whose duty it is 
to receive and take charge of all sums of 
money belonging to the town, and pay over the same 
to the order of the proper officers. He is required to 
make an annual report to the town, of his receipts and 
payments. 

Constables are chosen by ballot. They give bonds 

to the town, and, having done so, are em- 
Constables. _ . ° _ _ 

powered to serve writs and other legal 

processes specified by law. They serve warrants issued 
to them by the selectmen, convey persons to the county 
jail or house of correction, pursue offenders, and prose- 
cute for the violation of the Sunday laws, and the laws 
against profane swearing and gaming. In towns hav- 



0?OWK OFFICERS. 213 

ing no police force, the constables perform many police 
duties. They summon persons chosen to various town 
offices to appear before the town clerk, and take the re- 
quired oath : they also summon the persons who have 
been drawn as jurors. 

Among the beneficent provisions of the Massachu- 
setts statutes is the following : " Every Overseers of 
city and town shall relieve and support the Poor, 
all poor and indigent persons lawfully settled therein, 
whenever they stand in need thereof." To carry out 
this requirement is the business of the Overseers of the 
Poor', 1 three or more of whom may be chosen by any 
town annually. If these are not chosen, the selectmen 
perform their duties. They have the care of all such 
poor as long as they remain dependent upon the town, 
and see that they are suitably relieved, supported, and 
employed. They have the oversight of the town alms- 
house, employing a keeper, and making the necessary 
regulations for the care and employment of the -persons 
supported. They represent the town in its dealings 
with other towns in relation to the settlement and sup- 
port of paupers. 

Each town is required annually to elect by ballot a 
board of School Committee. The num- school Com- 
ber composing the board is determined by mittee. 
the town, but it must be a multiple of three. The 
term of service is three years, one third of the board 
being elected annually. A vacancy in the board is 
filled by joint vote of the remaining members and the 
selectmen. The person chosen to fill the vacancy 
holds office only until the end of the official year, when 
the town chooses some one for the remainder of the 
1 Women may be elected to this office. 



214 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

term. This board has the general charge and superin- 
tendence of all the public schools in town. It has a 
secretary, who keeps a permanent record of its pro- 
ceedings. The school committee selects and contracts 
with the teachers of the public schools, and personally 
examines them as to their qualifications to teach and 
govern ; and it may dismiss from employment any 
teacher whenever it thinks proper. Teachers, before 
entering upon their duties, must receive a certificate of 
qualification from the committee, a duplicate of which 
must be deposited with the selectmen before they are 
entitled to any pay for services. It is the duty of the 
committee to visit all the public schools once a month 
to ascertain their condition and wants. It decides 
what text-books shall be used in the schools, and makes 
arrangements for furnishing them to the pupils. Any 
town may require the committee to choose a superin- 
tendent of schools, who, under the direction and control 
of the committee, shall have the care and supervision 
of the schools. The school committee is required to 
make an annual detailed report to the town of the con- 
dition of the schools, with such suggestions as to their 
improvement as it deems proper. 

In each town the selectmen annually appoint a per- 
Superintend- son ^° be Superintendent of Streets. He 
ent of streets. h as f u ll charge of all labor and repairs 
upon streets, bridges, and side-walks, and the care and 
preservation of shade-trees. If no other provision is 
made, he also superintends repairs of sewers and drains. 
He acts under the direction of the selectmen, and may 
be removed by them. Instead of a Superintendent of 
Streets, any town may create a board of three road 
commissioners, chosen for three years by ballot, one re- 



TOWN OFFICERS. 215 

tiring annually. This board has the care of the roads 

and bridges of the town. A town may choose a sewer 

commissioner and one or more surveyors of highways. 

Field-drivers are required to be chosen by all the 

towns. The number is not specified. 

„ . , . . . Field-Drivers. 

Each town is also to maintain one or more 

sufficient pounds, or places for the enclosure and safe 
keeping of stray cattle, and annually to appoint a 
pound-keeper. It is the duty of the field-driver to 
take swine, sheep, horses, and cattle going at large in 
the highway without a keeper, and to put them in the 
pound. It is the duty of the pound-keeper to care for 
the animals while in his custody, and not to deliver 
them to the owner until the fees of the officers, and 
the expense of keeping, have been paid. The field- 
driver is required to notify the owner of beasts which 
he has impounded ; and, if the owner is not known, to 
post a description of the beasts in some public place ; 
and, if this is not sufficient, to publish the same in a 
newspaper. If the owner of animals which have been 
taken and are held does not pay the charges thereon, 
the property may be sold at auction, and the expenses 
deducted from the proceeds. 

Another town officer is the fence-viewer, two or 
more of whom each town must choose. 
The duty of these men is to settle dis- 
putes between the owners of adjoining estates re- 
specting the partition-fences. They serve only on ap- 
plication, and are paid by the person employing them. 
They decide what portion of a partition-fence each 
of two parties shall maintain, or divide the expense 
between them; and, in cases of neglect, they direct 
proper fences to be erected. 



216 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

One or more Surveyors of Lumber are chosen, whose 
Surveyors of duty it is, when requested to do so by the 
Lumber. purchaser or seller, to examine, measure, 

and mark any lumber brought into the State for sale, 
or manufactured within the State. Ship-timber, orna- 
mental woods, and building lumber, brought into the 
State for sale, must be surveyed and marked. 

Measurers of Wood are chosen by the town, or ap- 
Measurers of pointed by the selectmen. All firewood 
Wood. an( j b ar k exposed for sale in a market or 

upon a cart must be measured by the public measurer. 

The town at its annual meeting, or the selectmen, 
must appoint one or more Sealers of 
Weights and Weights and Measures. The State has 
easures. established as the standard weights and 

measures those received from the United States Gov- 
ernment. These are kept in the office of the treasurer 
of the Commonwealth. Each county, town, and city 
is furnished with a complete set of copies of the stand- 
ard. These are in the custody of the treasurers, but 
are delivered by them to the sealers. It is the duty of 
these officers, annually, to notify persons using weights 
and measures for buying and selling, to bring these to 
be adjusted and sealed. The sealers are required to go 
to such large scales and balances as cannot be moved. 
The statutes forbid the use of weights, measures, and 
scales which have not been sealed. 

Each town is required to choose annually one or 
more Auditors, who may hold no other 
town office. It is the duty of these offi- 
cers to examine the books and accounts of all town 
officers and committees who are entrusted with the 
receipt, custody, or expenditure of money. This ex- 



TOWN OFFICERS. 217 

animation must be made once each year, and may be 
made once each month. An annual report of the 
examination is required. 

SUMMARY OF TOWN OFFICERS. 

Clerk ; 

Selectmen, three, five, seven, or nine ; 

Assessors, three or more ; 

Collector of Taxes ; 

Treasurer ; 

Constables, one or more ; 

Overseers of the Poor, three or more ; 

School Committee, some multiple of three; 

Superintendent of Streets; 

Field-Drivers ; 

Fence-Viewers, two or more ; 

Surveyors of Lumber, one or more ; 

Measurers of Wood, one or more ; 

Sealers of Weights and Measures, one or more ; 

Auditors, one or more. 

The clerk, selectmen, assessors, treasurer, constables, 
and school committee are required to be elected by 
ballot ; the others, as the town determines. All the 
officers, except the school committee and the sealers of 
weights and measures, must be sworn. All may be 
chosen for terms of three years. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CITIES. 

When the population of a town exceeds twelve thou- 
sand, and so becomes too large to transact 
City Charter. . ° 

public business in a general town meeting, 

a different organization may be substituted for the one 
described in the last chapter. The legislature grants 
to the people of the town a new act of incorporation, 
called a city charter. The legislature cannot force a 
city organization upon any town. The charter must 
be accepted by a majority of the legal voters at a meet- 
ing called for the purpose. Amendments to the charter 
are also made by the legislature. This instrument gives 
to the people authority to choose different officers from 
those prescribed to towns in the general statutes, and to 
transact local business in a different way ; but the gen- 
eral powers and duties of the city organization are the 
same as those of the towns. 

For convenience in election the city is divided into 
Voting Pre- districts called wards, the number of which 
cincts - is specified in the charter. Each of these 

wards is a voting precinct, if it contains less than five 
hundred voters. If it contains more than one thousand 
voters it must, and if it contains more than five hundred 
it may, be divided into precincts. In each precinct the 
218 



CITIES. 219 

following officers are appointed by the mayor and 
aldermen : a warden, a deputy-warden, a clerk, a dep- 
uty-clerk, four inspectors, and four deputy-inspectors. 
These officers are to be appointed equally from the two 
largest political parties. It is their duty to receive, 
sort, and count the ballots cast at all elections. The 
warden has the same duties as the moderator of a town 
meeting. The clerk keeps a record of the proceedings. 
The inspectors assist the warden in sorting and count- 
ing the ballots. They are all appointed for one year, 
and are sworn to a faithful discharge of their duties. 

The entire administration of city affairs is vested in an 
officer called the Major, a board of Alder- 
men, and in most of the cities, another 
larger board called the Common Council. The two 
boards together constitute the City Council. 

The mayor is elected by the legal voters of the whole 
city. In most cities the aldermen are chosen Election of 

by the voters at large, one or more being Officers. 
usually selected from each ward. In some of the cities, 
each ward elects one or more aldermen. The members 
of the common council are always elected by the wards. 
The school committee is usually elected by the wards, 
though in several cities, beside the ward members are 
some elected at large. Assessors of taxes are, in some 
cities, elected by the city council; in others, by the 
voters. Overseers of the poor are elected in the same 
two ways in different cities. The city clerk, treasurer, 
and collector of taxes are elected by joint vote of the 
two branches of the city council, or by the aldermen 
when there is no common council. In nearly all the 
cities, superintendents of streets, engineers of fire 
departments, a city physician, a city solicitor, and an 



220 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

auditor of accounts are chosen either by joint or con- 
current vote of the city council. 

The duties of the city physician are, to care for the 

sick paupers and other persons in charge 
City Physician. ^ f f s 

oi the city authorities, to prepare annual 

bills of mortality of the city, to advise the city officers 

in cases of infectious diseases. 

The duties of the city solicitor are, to draft all legal 

instruments required in the conduct of city 

affairs, to act as attorney in all cases at law 

in which the city is a party, to give legal advice when 

required by any city officer in the discharge of his duties. 

A large number of inferior officers are appointed ; 
inferior some by joint vote of the city council, 

Officers. some by concurrent vote, and some by the 

mayor subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen. 
Among these are fence-viewers, field-drivers, pound- 
keepers ; surveyors and inspectors of various articles of 
trade, as wood, lumber, coal, lime, leather, meats, fish, 
milk ; sealers of weights and measures, inspectors of 
buildings, and commissioners in charge of cemeteries, 
water- works, and public libraries. 

The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city. 
Duties of the It is his duty to see that the laws of the 
Mayor. c fty are enforced, and to supervise the con- 

duct of subordinate officers. He calls special meetings 
of the city council, and gives such information and 
makes such recommendations as he deems necessary. 
He generally presides in the board of aldermen and in 
convention of the two boards, but has only a casting 
vote. His salary is fixed by vote of the city council. 
In cities, the mayor has a veto power similar to that of 
the governor of the Commonwealth. 



CITIES. 221 

The mayor and aldermen together constitute one 
board, and, in general, have the powers and duties of 
selectmen. They have exclusive control of police mat- 
ters, the mayor with the consent of the board of alder- 
men appointing all constables and police-officers. They 
issue warrants for ward meetings, and have D U ti es of the 
the care of jury-lists and of drawing jurors. Mayor and 
They have the initiative of all business re- 
lating to laying out and altering streets, though final 
action requires the concurrent vote of the other branch. 
They may, upon the request of a prescribed number of 
voters, call a general meeting of the voters of the 
city. 

Those powers that are exercised by the town in gen- 
eral meetings are, in the cities, exercised Duties of the 
by the city council. Measures for raising, cit y Council, 
appropriating, and borrowing money, the erection of 
public buildings or other public works, creating public 
offices, the salaries of officials, regulations to secure 
public order and safety — all these are determined by 
concurrent vote of the two branches, in cities hav- 
ing two branches, each having a negative upon the 
other. In some of the cities, the mayor's approval is 
also required. 

Those regulations to promote the local welfare, which 

in the towns are called by-laws, are in the 

,, , ,. , ,, . City Ordinances, 

cities called ordinances ; and they vary m 

number and variety with the population of the place. 

The more dense the population, the more poverty and 

crime, and the more danger from accident, fire, and 

infectious diseases. The city ordinances are minute in 

their requirements respecting the removal of offal and 

filth ; the construction of sewers and drains ; the erec- 



222 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

tion and use of buildings ; the obstruction of streets by- 
teams, or of sidewalks by ice and snow ; the sale of 
meats, milk, fish, and vegetables. They require the 
most careful precautions against fires. They punish 
truancy and vagrancy, because they are the source of 
crime. They protect public property in parks and ceme- 
teries from mischievous or malicious injury. Any of 
these ordinances may be annulled by the General Court. 
In comparing the government of a city with that of a 
Comparison of town, we see that the legislative functions 
City and Town. are exercised by the city council, instead 
of by the whole body of voters. The town organiza- 
tion is more democratic than the city, and for this reason 
adapted only to a small community. The executive 
functions are performed by the mayor and aldermen, 
instead of by selectmen. The inferior officers are elected 
by the city council, instead of by the people. The voters 
meet in districts for election, instead of in one body. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



ELECTIONS AND NOMINATIONS. 

The time and manner of electing State and county 
officers are prescribed by statute, and are Ti me f Eiec- 
uniform throughout the Commonwealth, tio11. 
The time is the Tuesday next after the first Monday in 
November. 

The following qualifications entitle a person to vote 
for officers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts : — 

Sex,— male. 1 Qualifications 

Political relation, — citizen of the Com- of Voters, 
monwealth of Massachusetts. 

Age, — twenty-one years or upwards. 

Residence, — within the State one year, and within 
the city or town where he wishes to vote six months, 
next preceding the election. 

Education,— must be able to read the Constitution of 
the Commonwealth in the English language, and write 
his name. 

There are some exceptions to these requisitions. 

Paupers, and persons under guardian- 
. . __. . Exceptions, 

ship, may not vote. The requirement 

respecting education does not apply to per- 

i Women having the other necessary qualifications may vote for school- 
committee. 

223 



224 CIVIL GOVEBNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

sons physically disqualified from complying with it, nor 
to persons who were voters when the requirement was 
established in 1857, nor to persons who were at that 
time sixty years old and upwards. 

In towns of less than three hundred voters the select- 
Registry men an d the town clerk constitute a board 
of Voters. f registrars of voters; in towns of more 
than three hundred voters the board is appointed by 
the selectmen; in cities the board is appointed by the 
mayor with the approval of the board of aldermen. 
This board consists of four members. It makes and 
keeps a record of all persons qualified to vote, in- 
cluding the name, age, birthplace, residence, and occu- 
pation. It also prepares lists of qualified voters and 
posts them in public places as required by law. It 
is required to be in session at prescribed times to 
register the names of persons who apply for the pur- 
pose, and to correct the lists accordingly. Registration 
ceases in towns at ten o'clock in the evening of the 
Saturday last but one preceding an election, and in 
cities on the twentieth day preceding an election. The 
board of registrars must be appointed equally from the 
two largest political parties. 

For the election of State and national officers, the bal- 
" Australian" i t s are prepared by the Secretary of State, 
Voting. and printed and distributed to local officers 

at State expense. These ballots contain the names and 
places of residence of all the candidates for all the 
offices, with a designation of the party whose principles 
they represent. There are also blanks for the insertion of 
other names. At each voting-place are two inspectors, 
detailed to act as ballot-clerks. These men have a list of 
the registered voters, and on application to them a person 



ELECTIONS AND NOMINATIONS. 225 

wishing to vote may receive one ballot, his name being 
then checked on the list. The voter may then enter an 
enclosure, where are compartments containing materials 
for marking the ballots. He shows his choice among the 
candidates by a mark (x) opposite the name. He then 
folds his ballot and deposits it in the box provided for 
the purpose, when his name is again checked, this time 
by the inspectors of election. No one may see him mark 
his ballot, and he is forbidden to show it before putting it 
into the box. The object of the secret ballot is to pre- 
vent bribery and intimidation, that each voter may 
vote freely and independently. In elections of city 
officers the mode of voting is the same, the ballots 
being provided at city expense. In the towns, officers 
are chosen in a less formal way, each registered voter 
depositing his ballot containing the names of the per- 
sons whom he prefers for the various offices. There 
are no compartments, no marking of ballots, no injunc- 
tion of secrecy. 

The town and city clerks enter in full upon the 
public records the names of the persons Records and 
voted for, the number of votes for each, Returns, 
and the title of the office for which each is proposed. 
Within ten days from the election of State and county 
officers, the clerks are required to send a sealed copy of 
this record of the election to the secretary of the Com- 
monwealth. 

The secretary transmits these returned copies to the 

governor and council, who examine them. 

rrn ,, , Certificates. 

lne governor then issues a summons to 

the persons chosen to the various executive offices, and 

to the senators. To the sheriffs, registers of probate, 

district attorneys, and the clerks of courts, he sends 



226 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE ¥NITED STATES. 

certificates of their election. The persons chosen to the 
house of representatives receive certificates of election, 
made out by the clerks of the several towns or 
cities in the district, who meet for the purpose of 
examining the records of votes, and ascertaining the 
result. Duplicate certificates are sent to the secretary 
of the Commonwealth. The returns of votes for 
county commissioners are examined by a board of ex- 
aminers in each county. The commissioners themselves 
examine the returns for treasurer, and register of deeds. 
The official year in Massachusetts begins on the first 
Wednesday in January. On that day, the 
legislature meets, and the secretary of the 
Commonwealth lays before the two houses the returns 
of votes for executive officers. The returns are ex- 
amined, and the results of the election declared. The 
officers are then ready to be qualified by taking the 
required oaths. The term of each officer continues 
until a successor is elected and qualified. 

The Constitution provides that judicial officers may 

be removed by the governor with consent 

of council, upon the request of both houses 

of the legislature. The members of the general court 

may be expelled by their respective houses. Executive 

officers can only be removed by impeachment. 

NOMINATIONS. 

Under the colonial government of Massachusetts- 
the nomination, as well as the election of officers, was 
regulated by law. But now the selection of candidates 
is left to be determined by the various political parties 
into which the people are divided ; and by them the 
whole matter is systematized. 



ELECTIONS AND NOMINATIONS. 227 

Each party has a State committee, whose business it 
is to look after the general interest of the 
party, and to promote its success. There 
is also a committee in each county and in each town, 
city, and ward in the county. Early in the fall of 
each year, the State committee issues a call for a 
convention to nominate candidates for the executive 
offices. This call states the basis of rep- call of Conven- 
resentation in the convention, one dele- tion - 
gate being allowed for a specified number of legal 
voters. Upon receiving this notice, the city and town 
committees issue calls for caucuses. These are meetings 
of the voters of the party, for the purpose 
of choosing delegates to the convention. 
The local committee is also chosen annually at a caucus. 

The delegates from all the cities and towns meet at 
the appointed time, and, after organizing, Nominating 
choose by ballot candidates for governor, Convention, 
lieutenant-governor, secretary, treasurer, auditor, and 
attorney-general. The State committee is also chosen 
at this time. After the nominations are made, a se- 
ries of resolutions is usually adopted, setting forth the 
principles of the party which the nominees are sup- 
posed to represent. During the autumn, conventions 
are held in the counties for the nomination of county 
officers, and in the councillor and senatorial districts 
to nominate candidates for the respective offices. To 
all of these, delegates are sent from the local caucuses. 

Representatives to the General Court are nominated 
by a convention in each district. Each 
party having made its nominations, the 
campaign, as it is called, opens. Every effort is made by 
public meetings, by the newspapers, and by personal 



228 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

influence, to secure the greatest number of votes for 
each candidate ; and the work goes on, under the super- 
vision of the various committees, until the day of elec- 
tion. 

This convention system makes it possible for politi- 
Objections to ca l managers to control the election. The 
the System. voter, on the day of election, has little 
room for choice. He must either vote for the nominee 
of his party or of the opposite party, or throw away 
his ballot by casting it for some person who has no 
chance of election. He may like neither of the candi- 
dates ; and his vote may only indicate his choice of 
evils. It is now too late for him to protest. 

The place of influence is the caucus. If that is con- 
Importance of trolled by politicians for selfish purposes, 
the Caucus. ^ e candidates will be men of the same 
stamp, and the government will be corrupt. The fate 
of the nation is decided at the caucuses, not at the elec- 
tions. If it is a duty of every voter to vote, it is a 
more imperative duty for him to attend the primary 
meetings of his party. If he does not do so, he has no 
right to complain of dishonest or incompetent officials. 
He must blame himself for his own negligence. 



PART IV. 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE HISTORY OF THE UNION BEFORE THE CONSTI- 
TUTION. 

The brief sketch which we have given of the early 
history of the thirteen English colonies in Tendencies to 
America has shown the great diversity Separation, 
that existed, not only in origin, but in the character of 
the people. This diversity was the cause of mutual 
jealousies. Local prejudices abounded ; and frequently 
disputes about territory and boundaries brought open 
hostilities. Though the people were all British subjects, 
yet only common dangers led them very gradually to see 
that, as Americans, they had common interests. Colo- 
nial union was not accomplished by any one act or suc- 
cession of acts. It developed, under the pressure of cir- 
cumstances, as a sentiment in the minds of the people, 
before it existed as a fact in their history. It was fore- 
shadowed in the New England confederacy, and pro- 
moted by the constant aggressions of the French. 

As early as 1690, the General Court of Massachusetts, 
by letters addressed to the other New Early Colonial 
England colonies and New York, invited Conferences, 
them to unite in a meeting of commissioners to consult 
and determine for their common safety. In this confer- 
ence four colonies were represented, — Massachusetts, 

231 



232 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Plymouth, Connecticut, and New York. They agreed 
upon measures for raising a joint army, and devised 
the various plans which were carried into execution 
during what is known as King William's war. It was 
a common occurrence for commissioners from several 
of the colonies to meet to treat with the Indian tribes ; 
and there was frequent official correspondence between 
them relating to the common defence. 

The idea of a permanent union was advocated about 
Union favored by this time, and various plans were sug- 
two Parties. gested ; one by William Penn. Union was 
favored by two opposite classes. One party desired to 
promote the interests of the colonies, and strengthen 
them in their free organization. The other, friends of 
royalty, wished to check the spirit of freedom by sub- 
jecting all to the control of one central authority 
directed by the crown. 

In 1754, by request of the British Government, a 
The Albany Con- convention was held at Albany, consisting 
vention. f delegates from seven of the colonies. 

The object of the meeting was twofold: first, to form 
a treaty of alliance with the chief of the Six Nations ; 
second, to enter into a union, or confederation, with 
each other for mutual defence. This convention 
adopted a plan of confederation prepared by Benjamin 
Franklin. This scheme proposed to leave the govern- 
ment of each colony in its existing form, giving to the 
local legislatures the power to choose members of a 
grand council, which should be the legislature of the 
union. This body was to meet annually, and was to 
have power to deal in all matters with the Indians, to 
provide for the common defence, and to levy taxes within 
the colonies to meet necessary expenses. Its laws were 



THE UNION BEFORE THE CONSTITUTION. 233 

to be submitted to the king, and might be disapproved 
by him within three years. There was to be a presi- 
dent-general appointed and supported by the crown. 
He was to nominate military officers, deal in Indian 
affairs, and execute the laws of the grand council, 
upon whose acts he was to have a negative. This 
plan met with little favor from any of the colonies. 
They were not yet ready for union. It seemed in- 
tended, that, when they did unite, it should be as 
independent States, rather than as subject prov- 
inces. 

Ten years later, a long step was taken towards union. 
The passage of the Stamp Act led the lead- The colonial 
ing patriots in the colonies to see the abso- Congress, 
lute necessity of a union of all the colonies in resisting 
arbitrary measures of the British Government. Adams, 
Otis, and the Warrens, of Massachusetts, from this time 
onward, were unceasing in their efforts to bring about 
so desirable a result. The first step was taken by Massa- 
chusetts, in calling a general congress, representing the 
assemblies of all the colonies. This first general colo- 
nial congress was held in New York, in October, 1765. 
It consisted of twenty-eight delegates, from nine of 
the colonies. Virginia, New Hampshire, Georgia, and 
North Carolina, though sympathizing with the move- 
ment, did not send representatives. The congress 
adopted a declaration of rights and grievances, an ad- 
dress to the king, and one to the House of Lords, and 
a petition to the House of Commons. These acts were 
ratified by the colonial assemblies. 

This congress, like the conventions that had preceded 
it, was chosen for a temporary purpose, committees of 
and, having done its work, dissolved. It Correspondence. 



234 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

required nine years more of British aggression to bring 
the masses of the people up to the idea of a permanent 
union. During these years, the union spirit was fos- 
tered by the machinery of committees of correspondence, 
devised by Samuel Adams, and chosen in most of the 
towns of Massachusetts, and afterward in the other 
colonies. By means of these, the people of different 
sections were kept acquainted with each other's views 
and plans ; and every new measure of the government 
served to draw them closer together. 

After the passage of the Boston Port Bill, the desire 
The Continental became general to form another congress ; 
Congress. and, in response to a call from Massachu- 

setts, on the 5th of September, 1774, fifty-five delegates 
from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia, and began 
the sessions of the famed Continental Congress. Geor- 
gia did not send delegates at first, but promised to 
concur with the other colonies. This body prepared a 
declaration of rights and grievances, an address to the 
king, one to the people of Great Britain, and another 
to the people of the northern provinces. 

But the most important act was the formation by 

m , „ T ^ the delegates, for themselves and the colo- 
The Non-Inter- 5 > # 

course Associa- nies they represented, oi an association 
tion. £ or ^ non ..i m p 0r tation, non-exportation, 

and non-consumption of British merchandise. The 
articles of agreement established rules for the govern- 
ment of the people in matters pertaining to the use of 
imported goods. This has been called "the first enact- 
ment of a general law by America," " the commence- 
ment of the American Union." The action of this 
congress was most heartily indorsed by the people 
throughout the colonies ; and either in conventions 



THE UNION BEFORE THE CONSTITUTION. 235 

chosen for the purpose, or by the colonial assemblies, 
all the colonies but Georgia and New York ratified the 
articles of the association, and assumed obligations to 
them as to a national law. 

The men who composed this first Continental Con- 
gress were the ablest and wisest among Ability of the 
the American people. Lord Chatham, in Congress, 
the House of Lords, said of them, " For myself, I must 
declare and avow, that in all my reading and observa- 
tion, — and it has been my favorite study : I have read 
Thucydides, and have studied and admired the master 
states of the world, — that for solidity of reasoning, 
force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion, under 
such a complication of circumstances, no nation, or 
body of men, can stand in preference to the General 
Congress at Philadelphia." 

That the sentiment of union, of nationality, was 
now complete, is shown by the treatment, union Accom- 
in the different colonies, of the plan of con- pushed. 
ciliation proposed by the British Government. This 
plan was submitted to each colony separately, in the 
hope to induce some to make terms with the crown, and 
so weaken the popular party. But every assembly re- 
fused to treat separately with Great Britain, declaring 
that they should leave the whole matter to the general 
congress. From this time, the thirteen American colo- 
nies were one people. As such, they were represented 
by the Continental Congress, which met again as a per- 
manent institution in the following May, and continued 
its sessions from time to time until 1781. It at once 
showed its national character by assuming the support 
of the army gathered about Boston, and by appointing 
Washington commander-in-chief, and still more decid- 



236 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

edly by entering into negotiations with foreign nations. 
Union was now an accomplished fact. But the machin- 
ery of government was defective ; and, after the Declar- 
ation of Independence, the congress began to discuss 
plans for a more formal confederation. 

I 

THE CONFEDERATION. 

The Declaration of Independence changed entirely 
the political character of the American colonies. The 
people were now independent and sovereign; and as 
such they proceeded at once to organize themselves 
in accordance with their changed condition. They 
adopted, by popular vote, State constitutions based 
upon the American ideas of local self-government. 
But, in all, the sphere of State government was lim- 
ited to its own internal affairs. None of the constitu- 
tions made any provisions for intercourse with foreign 
nations. This external sovereignty the people had 
already vested in the general congress ; and they never 
withdrew it. 

On the 11th of June, 1776, a committee was ap- 
Formation of pointed by Congress to prepare articles of 
Confederation, confederation. This committee reported 
in July following ; but the views and interests of the 
various colonies were so diverse, and so many vexing 
questions arose as to the relative authority of the local 
and general governments, that it was not until Novem- 
ber, 1777, that the articles were finally adopted by 
Congress, and submitted to the States. It was not until 
March 1, 1781, that Maryland, the last of the colonies, 
ratified them. On the 2d of March, 1781, the new 
government went into operation. 



THE CONFEDERATION. 237 

The instrument was called " Articles of Confederation 
and Perpetual Union between the States." 
The confederacy was styled " The United Powers of the 
States of America ; " and it was declared Union> 
to be " a league of friendship," for " common defence," 
" security of liberties," and " mutual and general wel- 
fare." Each State was to retain its sovereignty, free- 
dom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, 
and right not expressly delegated by the articles to the 
United States Congress. A citizen of any State was to 
be treated as such by every other State ; and full liberty 
of travel and commerce was guaranteed. Fugitives 
from justice were to be delivered up. 

The general government had but one department. 
This was a Congress, to be composed of 
delegates from the States, chosen in such 
a manner as the legislatures should direct. No State 
could have less than two or more than seven members. 
The delegates were^ supported by the State, and might 
be recalled at any time. In the conduct of business in 
the Congress, each State had one vote, determined by a 
majority of its delegates. This had been the practice 
of the Continental Congress. The Congress had sole 
power respecting peace and war, ambassadors, treaties 
and alliances, and matters pertaining to the capture 
and disposal of prizes taken in war. It had also the 
sole right to fix the value of coin, and the standard of 
weights and measures, to manage Indian affairs, estab- 
lish postal communication, appoint land and naval 
officers, and make rules for the government of the 
forces and the direction of operations. It was the busi- 
ness of the Congress to ascertain and appropriate the 
sums of money necessary to meet the public expenses ; 
20* 



238 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

to borrow money or emit bills on the credit of the 
United States; to decide upon the number of land 
forces and the quota of each State, this quota being 
based upon the number of white inhabitants. The 
more important of these powers could not be exercised 
without the consent of nine States. 

The executive business was transacted by commit- 
Executive tees anc ^ officers appointed by the Con- 

Business, gress. A committee, consisting of one 

member from each State, was also appointed to sit dur- 
ing the recess, and execute such of the less important 
powers of the Congress as might be delegated to it by 
that body. The States were forbidden to exercise the 
functions delegated to the Congress. 

The expenses of the general government were to be 
defrayed, out of a common treasury sup- 

T?lV»0\1rtOO 

plied by the States, each paying to it in 
proportion to the value of land granted and surveyed 
within its limits. The taxes for this purpose were to 
be levied by the authority of the State legislatures, the 
time being fixed by the Congress. 

Every State agreed to comply with the requisitions 
of the Congress, to inviolably observe all the articles of 
the confederation, and to make the union perpetual. 
The articles were not to be altered except by the Con- 
gress with the assent of all the State legislatures. The 
instrument contains no hint of a possibility of volun- 
tary withdrawal by any State. 

The leading minds of the country foresaw that the 
Defects of the government established by these articles 
Confederation, would not meet the necessities of the 
nation. But this was the best that could be obtained 
at that time. A few years of trial convinced the peo- 



THE CONFEDERATION. 239 

pie of the defects of the confederation. In looking for 

these defects, we notice first the nature of the union. 

Out of this grew all other evils. It was 

called a league of States ; and complete 

internal sovereignty was granted to each of these local 

organizations. 

It followed directly from this, that the Congress 
had no coercive power. It could not go 2. No Coercive 
within the States to deal with individuals; Power, 
and the States themselves could not be coerced by the 
ordinary processes of law. Since there was no power 
to coerce, there was no penalty attached to the enact- 
ments of Congress, and therefore no judiciary to apply, 
and no executive to enforce them. They had not the 
essential qualities of laws : they were only recommen- 
dations. The elements of government are law, penalty, 
judgment, execution. The confederation was destitute 
of all these. It was only government in name. 

A third defective feature was the fact that the power 
to tax was reserved to the States, and they 3, ^o Power to 
might and did disregard the levies made Tax - 
by the Congress. The confederation had not power to 
collect a dollar. Hence it had no credit ; for this is 
based on confidence in the ability of the borrower to 
pay. If he has no property, and no means of getting 
any, he will not be trusted. A government without 
money or credit cannot sustain itself any better than a 
man can in the same circumstances. Its promises to 
pay are worthless. For this reason the paper money 
issued by the Continental Congress during the Revolu- 
tion rapidly depreciated, until at the close of the war a 
bushel of it would not buy a breakfast. The evils that 
resulted from this condition of affairs were many and 



240 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

grievous. The soldiers were unpaid, the army contract- 
ors were clamorous for their dues ; and, worse than all, 
thousands of families whose entire wealth had been 
invested in continental money were suddenly reduced 
to poverty. 

Another defect in the articles was the withholding 
4 „ from the Congress of the power to regulate 

Regulate Com- commerce. This led to the greatest diver- 
sity in the commercial enactments of the 
several States. Each State adopted a selfish policy, try- 
ing to build up its own commerce at the expense of its 
neighbors. Mutual jealousies and bitterness grew out 
of this conduct. The Congress could make no commer- 
cial treaties with other nations, because it had no power 
to enforce their provisions upon the citizens of the 
States. 

Recapitulating these defects, we find them to be, the 

nature of the union, the want of coercive 

ecapi u a ion. p 0wer ^ fae absence of a judiciary and a 

responsible executive, the inability to tax, the conse- 
quent loss of credit, and the absence of power to 
regulate commerce. In consequence of all these, the 
confederation failed to inspire respect at home and 
abroad. All parties came to see that it could not meet 
the requirements of the union, and that every day the 
union itself was growing weaker. But these very 
defects were valuable lessons from which the people 
learned how to build up a more stable govemment. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE OKIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

The commercial troubles, mentioned in the last 
chapter, led the legislatures of Marjdand Preliminary 
and Virginia, in 1785, to appoint commis- Measures, 
sioners to make a compact relative to the navigation of 
the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. The commis- 
sioners found that they had too little power, and recom- 
mended to their legislatures a convention in which all 
the States should be represented, and which should 
devise means to secure uniformity in commercial regu- 
lations. Virginia issued a call to all the States ; and 
five of them — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, and Virginia — sent commissioners to Annapo- 
lis in 1786. They found their powers too limited, and 
proposed another convention in which delegates from 
all the States should " take into consideration the situ- 
ation of the United States," and " devise such further 
provisions as should appear to them necessary to render 
the constitution of the federal government adequate to 
the exigencies of the Union." 

In February, 1787, Congress passed a resolution rec- 
ommending a convention to meet- in Phil- The Convention 
adelphia in the ensuing May, for the pur- of 1787 - 
pose of revising the articles of confederation. All the 

241 



242 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

States except Rhode Island sent delegates, who met at 

the appointed time and place. George Washington 

was chosen president of the convention. It was found 

impossible to secure the desired end by using the 

articles of confederation as a basis ; and an entirely new 

constitution was drafted, differing from the old in the 

nature, form, and powers of the government which it 

proposed. This draft was discussed and amended, and 

in its final form adopted by the convention Sept. 17, 

1787. It was then submitted to Congress, and by that 

body transmitted to the legislatures of the 
Ratification. ^ . , . . 

States, with a recommendation that it be 

laid before a convention of delegates chosen for that 

purpose by the people in each State. Within a year, 

the Constitution was ratified by conventions in eleven 

States. North Carolina ratified in 1789, and Rhode 

Island in 1790. In March, 1789, the new government 

went into operation. 

The ratification was only secured by the most strenu- 
Objectionstothe ous efforts of the friends of the Constitu- 
Constitution. tion. There was hardly a feature of it 
that escaped criticism ; and its most important provis- 
ions were subject to opposition on the most diverse 
grounds. Experience has shown how groundless were 
most of the fears, and how absurd were many of the 
objections. 

The discussions which followed the publication of 
the Constitution divided the country into 
two great parties, — the Federalists who 
advocated, and the Anti-Federalists who opposed, its 
ratification. Among the men whose influence was 
most powerful in favor of the new government, were 
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. They to- 



OBJECTS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 243 

gether wrote, and published in a New York newspaper, 
a series of articles which now constitute one work 
entitled " The Federalist." Of the eighty-five papers 
in the work, Mr. Hamilton probably wrote about sixty, 
Mr. Jay five or six, and Mr. Madison the remainder. 
They are rich in historical illustrations, and discuss 
thoroughly and ably the various objections to the new 
government. 

THE OBJECTS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

The objects of the Constitution are stated in the 
brief preamble : " We, the people of the 
United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
quillity, provide for the common defence, promote the 
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America." 

The language used in this preamble throws much 
light upon the nature of the new union. 
It was to be a " more perfect union " than 
had previously existed. That union was a league of 
States, and perhaps as perfect as such a union could be. 
To improve it, its nature must be changed. Hence, 
instead of a league of States, a union of people is 
formed. A nation is organized, instead of a confeder- 
ation. The underlying principle of the constitutional 
government is national, not federal. The people of the 
United States is one people. The Constitution is 
ordained and established by this people, for this people. 
While the instrument, as we shall see, recognizes the 
existence of States, and provides for their continuance, 
it does not derive its authority from them ; they are not 



244 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the original parties to the agreement, nor are they, as 
States, subjects of the government. The people of the 
United States by this act constitute one state, whose 
name is the United States of America. 

While each State had its own judicial tribunals, and 

aimed to secure justice among its own citi- 
2 Justice 

zens, the local laws frequently discrimi- 
nated most unjustly against the citizens of other States. 
This was especially true of the laws relative to the pay- 
ment of debts. In the settlement of disputes concern- 
ing the property of citizens of foreign nations, there 
was no uniformity ; and the treaties with those nations 
were persistently violated by local legislation. There 
was an absolute necessity for some tribunal possessing 
supreme authority, which should have a national juris- 
diction, by which inter-state and international justice 
should be established. 

During the period of the confederation, the country 
3. Domestic was i n a most deplorable condition. There 
Tranquillity. was a complete stagnation in business. 
The States were burdened by heavy war debts ; and 
many of the citizens were bankrupt. Taxes were 
necessarily heavy, but the poverty of the people made 
them seem doubly oppressive. In this state of affairs, 
in 1786, the peace of Massachusetts was disturbed by 
persons who gathered in large numbers at the various 
county towns in the western and central parts of the 
State, to prevent the holding of the courts. These peo- 
ple complained that the government was extravagant 
and oppressive ; that the courts were held in the inter- 
ests of the rich. They demanded that the taxes should 
be lightened, and that the suits for debt should be 
stayed. The tone and actions of these men were so 



OBJECTS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 245 

alarming, and their number so formidable, that it 
became necessary to call out the militia of the State. 
They were finally dispersed after one or two slight 
engagements, with the loss of several lives. This dis- 
turbance is called Shays' Rebellion, from Daniel Shays, 
one of the leaders of the insurgents. If some action 
were not taken by which the public credit could be 
restored, and the various industries of the people 
revived, such disturbances were likely to occur at any 
time and in any locality. Hence the third object of 
the Constitution was stated to be " to insure domestic 
tranquillity." 

" To provide for the common defence " had been the 

leading object in all the various move- 

. . 4. Defence, 

ments towards union. To secure this, the 

heartiest co-operation of all the States was needed. But, 

in the present state of affairs, voluntary co-operation 

could not be hoped for. There must be a central 

authority competent to inspire confidence at home and 

respect abroad. The general government must have 

the power to raise armies, and the power of taxation to 

support them. Only in this way could the common 

defence be longer provided for. 

All the objects that have been stated would, if at- 
tained, have tended " to promote the 5. General 
general welfare ; " but there were more Welfare, 
direct benefits to be hoped from a national govern- 
ment. Regulating commerce, fostering industries irre- 
spective of sectional interests, carrying on internal im- 
provements, establishing communication between the 
States, encouraging science — all these it was the ob- 
ject of the Constitution to secure. 

The final object of the Constitution is stated to be,- 



246 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

" to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
6. Security of our posterity." Since the settlement of 
Liberty. £} ie colonies, their history had been one 

continual struggle for liberty. This boon they had 
now acquired. But it needed no peculiar sagacity to 
foresee that thirteen small sovereign States could not 
exist side by side, and all retain their independence. 
Mutual jealousies would provoke hostility ; the weaker 
would become the prey of the stronger ; and, thus di- 
vided, all might again be brought under the power of 
some foreign state. History furnishes numerous illus- 
trations of such disasters. To secure the blessings of 
liberty was as necessary as to acquire them. 

While this preamble confers no powers upon the 
government under the Constitution, it serves to show 
the scope of its powers, and to throw light upon the 
interpretation of obscure provisions. We have now to 
examine the constitution in detail to see how it accom- 
plishes the objects for which the people ordained it. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

All legislative powers granted by the Constitution 
are vested in a Congress of the United 
States, which consists of a Senate and 
House of Representatives. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

The number of members of the first House of Repre- 
sentatives was fixed by the Constitution at Number of 
sixty-five ; but subsequently the number Members, 
has been determined by Congress, and has changed 
from time to time as the population of the country has 
increased. The Constitution provides that the number 
shall at no time exceed one for every thirty thousand 
inhabitants. The number of members apportioned on 
the census of 1900 is three hundred and eighty-six. 

The representatives are chosen by the people of the 
several States. The States are divided 
into congressional districts, in each of 
which the people elect one representative. But this 
district system is established by law, not by the Consti- 
tution. Any person who, in any State, is entitled by 
law to vote for members of the larger branch of the 
legislature, may vote for representative in Congress. 

247 



248 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Qualifications of voters are thus determined by the 
States, not by the general government. 

The representatives are apportioned among the States 
according to the number of inhabitants, 
excluding from that number Indians not 
taxed. When the Constitution was formed, the num- 
ber of inhabitants on which representation was based 
was made up by adding to the whole number of free 
persons those bound to service for a term of years, and 
three-fifths of the slaves ; excluding, as now, Indians 
not taxed. Since the abolition of slavery, the Con- 
stitution has been amended to meet the changed cir- 
cumstances. This apportionment is made after each 
decennial census, beginning with 1790. The whole 
number of people in the United States is divided by 
the number of representatives, which has been pre- 
viously fixed by Congress. The quotient is the number 
of inhabitants entitled to one representative : it is called 
the ratio of representation. The population of each 
State is divided by this number; and the quotient is 
the number of representatives to which the State is 
entitled. There are remainders, so that the number 
apportioned to the States is less than the number fixed 
by Congress. One additional representative is assigned 
to each of the States having the largest remainders, 
until the whole number is made up. The Constitution 
provides that each State shall have at least one repre- 
sentative. If a new State is admitted to the Union 
between two successive apportionments, it is gener- 
ally allowed one representative until the next census. 
The ratio of representation for the present decade is 
173,901. Massachusetts has fourteen representatives. 
Besides the representatives from the States, provided 



THE SENATE. 249 

for by the Constitution, Congress has by law authorized 
each organized Territory to send one per- 
son, who is called a delegate. These per- 
sons sit with the representatives, and take part in the 
discussions, but have no vote. 

The term of service is two years. The official 
year begins on the 4th of March. As the 
government was organized under the Con- 
stitution in 1789, there is a new house of representa- 
tives in March of each odd year. If a vacancy occurs 
in the representation of any State, it is filled by a new 
election, ordered by the governor. 

The following are the requisite qualifications of a 
representative : — 

1. He must be at least twenty-five years ^ ualifications - 
of age. 

2. He must have been at least seven years a citizen 
of the United States. 

3. When elected, he must be an inhabitant of the 
State. 

The House of Eepresentatives is organized in the 
same way as the State legislatures. The 
House elects one of its members as speaker. 
The clerk, sergeant-at-arms, chaplain, and other officers, 
are not members. 

The House of Eepresentatives has two special powers : 

1. to present articles of impeachment ; 2. to originate 

all bills for raising revenue, though the 

,7; Special Powers, 

Senate may amend these. 



250 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 



THE SENATE. 

The Senate of the United States is composed of two 

senators from each State. They are chosen by the 

legislature of the State. The members of each house, 

_ T . on the same day, vote viva voce for a sena- 

Number and J 

Choice of tor. On the next day the two houses meet 

Members. - n conven tion ; and if the same person has 

received a majority of all the votes cast in each house 
he is declared elected. If no person has received such 
majorities, then the two houses, sitting as one body, pro- 
ceed to vote viva voce ; and, if a majority of both houses 
is present, the person who receives a majority of the 
votes cast is declared elected. If there is no choice on 
the first day, they are required to meet, and take at 
least one vote each day, until choice is made or the ses- 
sion closes. This method is prescribed by a United 
States law. 

The term of service is six years. The first members 

were arranged in three classes, one-third 

retiring in two years, one-third in four 
years, and one-third in six years. By this arrangement 

one-third of the Senate retires biennially. 

If a vacancy happens, by resignation or 
otherwise, and the legislature of the State is not in ses- 
sion, the governor may make a temporary appointment 
until the next meeting of the legislature, when the 
vacancy is filled in the usual way. The person so 
chosen holds office only for the remainder of the term 
for which his predecessor was elected. 

The following are the requisite qualifications of a 

senator : — 

1. He must be at least thirty years of 
age. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS RESPECTING CONGRESS. 251 

2. He must have been at least nine years a citizen of 
the United States. 

3. When elected, he must be an inhabitant of the 
State. 

The organization of the Senate is similar to that 
of the House. The vice-president of the United States 
is the presiding officer of the Senate ; but has no vote, 
except the house be equally divided. In 

,-, i n . \ >j . Organization, 

the abseuce of the vice-president, a presi- 
dent^?/^ tempore performs his functions. 

The Senate has some peculiar executive functions, 
which will be noticed in the next chapter. 
It has also the power to try all impeach- 
ments. The details of the trial will be considered 
separately. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS RESPECTING CONGRESS. 

Each house is the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its members. Each house control of Mem- 
makes its own rules of order, and may bership. 
punish its members for disorderly conduct, and by 
vote of two-thirds may expel a member. Members are 
sometimes publicly reprimanded by the speaker, on vote 
of the house, for using unparliamentary language, or 
for other official misconduct. Members of the House 
of Representatives were expelled in the early part of 
the war of the Rebellion, for treasonable language and 
acts. 

A majority of each house is a quorum ; and, in order 
to secure this, a smaller number have the 
power to compel the attendance of absent 
members. Less than a quorum may adjourn from day 
to day. 



252 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Each member of Congress is required to take oath to 
support the Constitution ; and, since the 
war of the Rebellion, this oath has been 
made more explicit. 

No member of either house can, during the time for 
which he was elected, be appointed to any 
civil office under the United States which 
has been created, or the salary of which has been 
increased, during his term. No person holding any 
office under the United States can be a member of 
either house during his continuance in office. 

The Constitution requires at least one annual session 
of Congress, to begin on the first Monday 
in December, unless a different time be 
fixed by law. Each Congress * usually holds two ses- 
sions : one longer, beginning in December of the odd 
year, and continuing until the next midsummer; a 
second, shorter, beginning in December of the even 
year, and continuing until the 4th of March follow- 
ing, when the term of service of all the representa- 
tives, and of one-third of the senators, expires. Other 
sessions are sometimes held, either at times fixed by 
Congress, or when called by the President. Neither 
house can, during the session, without the consent of 
the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
any other place than that in which the Congress is 
sitting. 



1 By the phrase, "a Congress," is meant the two branches holding 
office during any one representative term. Thus the first house of 
representatives and the senators in office during the first two years 
formed the first Congress; and each Congress is distinguished by the 
number of the representative term, dating from March 4, 1789. The 
Congress whose term began March 4, 1901, was the fifty-seventh. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS RESPECTING CONGRESS. 253 

The compensation of the members of Congress is 
determined by law, and is paid out of the 
treasury of the United States. The salary 
has been increased from time to time. At present the 
salary of representatives and senators is five thousand 
dollars a year, with compensation for travelling ex- 
penses. The presiding officer of each branch receives 
eight thousand dollars. 

The steps in making laws are essentially the same 
in Congress as in the State legislatures. 

a o • i i i.n Making Laws. 

Alter passing the two houses, bills are 
sent to the President. If he approves, he signs: if 
not, he returns the bill to the house in which it ori* 
ginated, where his objections are recorded, 
and the bill is again voted upon. If it is 
approved by two-thirds of each house, it becomes a 
law. The President has ten days, Sundays excepted, 
in which to consider the bill. If he does not return 
it within that time, it becomes a law without his sig- 
nature, unless Congress adjourns before the expiration 
of the ten days. 

Business is transacted, as in other legislative bodies, 

by the help of committees. In the house 

n . . (, Committees, 

oi representatives, the appointment ot com- 
mittees is vested in the Speaker. This is a difficult and 
delicate task. It is customary to have the two leading 
political parties represented in each committee nearly 
in the proportion which they have in the house. The 
most important committees are, the committee of ways 
and means, — whose work is to devise means for raising 
the money necessary to carry on the government, — the 
committee on appropriations, on commerce, on banks 
and currency, on the judiciary. The position of chair- 



254 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

man of one of these committees is a most honorable 
one ; and the Speaker must not only seek fitness for the 
places, but he must fill them with members from differ- 
ent parts of the country, to avoid sectional jealousy. 
The senate appoints its own committees, the lists being 
made up by caucuses of the two parties, previously 
held. 

The form of the legislative department was adopted 
F f after much discussion and opposition, 

gress a Com- The small States demanded equality of 
promise. representation in both houses: the large 

States wished it in neither. The federal and national 
ideas were in conflict. The result was a compromise. 
The house of representatives embodies the national 
idea, the members being chosen directly by the people, 
and the number being proportioned to the population. 
The senate represents the federal idea, the members 
being chosen by the legislature, and all the States being 
equally represented. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL DEPARTMENTS. 
THE PRESIDENT. 

All executive power is vested in a single officer 

styled The President of the United States. 

His term of service is four years; and he 

may be re-elected. The example of Washington in 

declining a second re-election has practically limited 

the term of the office to two consecutive terms. 

The President is required to have the following quali- 
fications : 1. He must be a native citizen. 
2. He must be at least thirty-five years of 
age. 3. He must have been for at least fourteen years 
a resident in the United States. 

The manner of choosing a President is as fol- 
Mode of Elec- lows : — 

tlon - . 1. The people of each State choose a 

body of men called Electors. The number of these is 

the same as the number of senators and 
Electors. . 

representatives which the State sends to 

Congress. No senator, or representative, or person 

holding any office of trust or profit under the United 

States, can be an elector. A law requires electors to 

be chosen in all the States on the Tuesday next after 

the first Monday in November. 

255 



256 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

2. The electors meet in their respective States, usu- 

ally in the capital, and vote by ballot for 
Electoral Vote. J . , . rru r ' . ,. J . . 

president, I he Constitution requires the 
electors to vote on the same day in all the States ; and a 
law fixes the second Monday in January as the time. 
The electors make three lists, each containing the 
names of the persons voted for, and the number of votes 
for each. These lists are signed by all the electors, and 
sealed ; and a person is appointed by them to carry one 
list to the president of the senate, at the seat of the 
national government; another is sent by mail, directed 
to the same officer; and the third is delivered to the 
judge of the United States Court for the district in 
which the electors meet. 

3. If a list of votes is not received from a State 
Counting the a ^ * ne sea * °^ government at the proper 
Votes, time, a messenger is sent for the one in 
the hands of the district judge. On the second Wed- 
nesday in February, the two houses of Congress meet 
as one body ; and the president of the senate opens 
the certificates. The votes are then counted by tellers 
appointed for the purpose ; and the person, if such 
there be, having a number of votes equal to a ma- 
jority of the whole number of electors appointed, is 
declared elected. 

4. If no person has such majority, then the represent- 

atives proceed at once to choose a presi- 

Election by . ^ . * 

House of Repre- dent. .b or this purpose two-thirds of the 

sentatives. gtates mugt be represented. The voting 

is by ballot and by States, each State having one vote ; 
and a majority of the States is required for election. 
The choice of the house must be from the three persons 
having the highest numbers of electoral votes. The 



THE PRESIDENT. 257 

balloting of the house may continue until the 4th of 
March ensuing ; when, if there has been no choice, 
the vice-president assumes the duties of president. 

The mode of election as above described is contained 
in an amendment to the Constitution. The original Mode 
original mode, as prescribed by the Consti- of Election, 
tution, was different. The electors, instead of voting 
separately for president and vice-president, each voted 
for two persons, without specifying the office. When 
the votes^were counted, the person having a majority 
of the votes was declared president ; and the person 
having the next highest number was declared vice- 
president. If two persons had a majority, and each 
had the same number of votes, the house of representa- 
tives chose between them. Thomas Jefferson was thus 
chosen. If no one had a majority, the representatives 
proceeded to choose a president from the five names on 
the list having the most votes. John Quincy Adams 
was chosen by the House after the amendment. 

The president may be removed from office by im- 
peachment ; and in case of such removal, 
or death, or resignation, or inability to per- 
form the duties of the office, the Constitution provides 
that these duties shall devolve upon the vice-president. 
If neither should be able to perform the duties, Congress 
has by law declared that one of the heads of the execu- 
tive departments shall act as president until the dis- 
ability is removed or a president is elected. The heads 
of the departments are to succeed in the following order : 
secretary of state, secretary of treasury, secretary of 
war, attorney-general, postmaster-general, secretary of 
navy, secretary of interior. If the first office should be 
vacant or its incumbent ineligible, the second in order 



258 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

would act as president, and so on through the list. To 
act as president these officers must be eligible as president 
under the constitution. 

At noon on the fourth day of March, the chief justice 
of the supreme court of the United States 
administers to the president elect the oath 
of office required by the Constitution : " I do solemnly 
swear that I will faithfully execute the office of Presi- 
dent of the United States, and will to the best of my 
ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution 
of the United States." This ceremony is the inaugura- 
tion of the president ; and it is customary for him to 
deliver an address appropriate to the occasion. 

The compensation of the president is fixed by Con- 
gress ; but the Constitution requires that 
it shall not be increased or diminished 
during his term of service, and that he shall not receive 
within that period any other emolument from the 
United States, or from any of the States. During the 
first term of Washington's administration, the salary 
was fixed at twenty-five thousand dollars a year ; and it 
remained unchanged until 1873, when it was raised to 
fifty thousand dollars a year. In addition -to this, the 
executive mansion, called the White House, is furnished 
to the president rent free, together with its furniture, 
fuel, lights, care of grounds, etc. 

THE VICE-PRESIDENT. 

When the electors vote for president, they also vote 

by distinct ballots for a vice-president. 

They make similar lists of the persons 

voted for, and send them with the others ; and the votes 

are counted at the same time. The person having a 



THE VICE-PRESIDENT. 259 

majority of the electoral votes is declared vice-president. 
If no person has such majority, the senate proceeds at 
once to choose a vice-president from the two persons 
having the highest number of votes. 

The qualifications requisite for the vice-president are 
the same as for the president; and he is 
chosen for the same term. He is not 
strictly connected with the executive department, hav- 
ing no executive functions unless in case of a vacancy 
in the office of president, when he assumes the duties 
of that position. He is more closely connected with 
the legislative department, being president of the sen- 
ate, though he has no vote unless the senate be equally 
divided. The salary of the vice-president is fixed by 
Congress, and is now eight thousand dollars a year. 

The choice of president and vice-president by 

electors, and not directly by the people, 

,, ' i j • • Nomination, 

would seem to preclude a previous nomi- 
nation. This was doubtless the intention of the 
framers of the Constitution, to avoid the excitement of 
a popular election. But in this respect the purposes of 
the fathers have been defeated. Each of the political 
parties of the country has a national, as well as a State, 
committee. In the summer preceding the choice of 
electors, these committees issue calls for national con- 
ventions composed of delegates from the States. These 
delegates are chosen at State conventions, which consist 
of delegates chosen in town and ward caucuses. At the 
national conventions, candidates are nominated for the 
office of president and vice-president ; and their friends 
come before the people with their claims, just as if the 
people were to vote directly for them. At subsequent 
State conventions, persons are nominated for electors. 



260 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

pledged to vote for the party candidates. For these per- 
sons the people vote, with the understanding that by 
so doing they are expressing their choice for president. 
All that the electors have to do is to record their votes 
for the persons previously agreed upon. The electoral 
voting is therefore only a form. If the candidate 
should die between the time of the choice of electors, 
and the day for them to vote, the responsibility of 
choice would fall more directly upon them. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

The Constitution vests judicial power in one supreme 
court, and such inferior courts as Congress 
shall from time to time establish. The Su- 
preme Court of the United States consists of one chief 
justice and eight associate justices. It holds an annual 
term in Washington, beginning on the second Monday in 
October. 
The United States has been divided by Congress into 

nine judicial circuits, in each of which are 
Circuit Courts. ... ^ , . . £ 

two justices. .Lacn justice 01 the supreme 

court holds a circuit court with the assistance of one of 

the circuit justices. 

These circuits are divided into districts, in each of 

which is a "judge, a clerk, a marshal, and an 
District Courts. a * .a. i n' 

attorney, borne ot the larger States are 

divided into two or three districts ; each of the others 

forms one district. The duties of the marshal are similar 

to those of the sheriff in the State courts. 

In each circuit is a Circuit Court of Appeals consisting 

Circuit Court of three judges. The supreme court justice 

of Appeals. f or ^he circuit, the circuit judges and the 

district judges within the circuit are competent to com- 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 261 

pose this court. A term of this court is held annually in 
each circuit. Its business is to exercise appellate juris- 
diction over certain prescribed cases from the district and 
circuit courts. 

Besides the courts of justice that have been described, 
there is a Court of Claims, consisting of 
five justices. The business of this court 
is to examine all claims against the government for the 
payment of money about which there is dispute, and to 
make such awards as the court deems just. As a 
sovereign state cannot be sued in an ordinary court, 
justice requires that some such provision should be 
made for the benefit of the public creditors. 

All the judges are appointed by the president, with 
the advice and consent of the senate. 
They hold their office during good be- and Salary 
havior, and may be removed by impeach- of Jud & es - 
ment and subsequent conviction. Their compensation 
is fixed by law ; but the Constitution provides that it 
shall not be diminished during their continuance in 
office. The marshals and district attorneys are also 
appointed by the president. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 
1. RESPECTING FINANCE. 

The superiority of the constitutional government 
Power of Taxa- over ^ ne confederation is nowhere more 
tion. apparent than in the extensive powers 

given to Congress for raising money. The grant is as 
follows : " Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and 
provide for the common defence and general welfare of 
the United States." The four words used are intended 
to cover all forms of taxation. A tax is " a contribution 
imposed by government on individuals for the service 
of the state." Duties, in a restricted sense, are taxes 
upon articles imported or exported. Imposts are the 
same as duties. Excises are taxes upon articles man- 
ufactured or produced for home consumption. 

The Constitution divides taxes into two classes, direct 

and indirect, and prescribes different modes 
Direct Taxes > 

of apportionment. Direct taxes include 
poll-taxes, — that is, taxes upon the person of the con- 
tributors, — and taxes on land, houses, and other real 
estate. These must be apportioned as representatives 
are ; that is, according to the population of the several 
States. This provision was a compromise between the 
slaveholding and non-slaveholding States. The for- 
mer wished all the slaves counted in the representative 

262 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 263 

population : the latter wished none of them counted. 
The controversy was settled by counting three-fifths of 
them both for representation and for taxation. Direct 
taxes have very rarely been levied by the government 
of the United States. 

Indirect taxes include duties, imposts, and excises. 
These are required to be uniform through- 
out the country. Duties upon exports are 
prohibited. Duties upon imports are of two kinds. 
Specific duties are proportioned to the quantity of the 
article imported ; ad valorem duties are proportioned to 
the market value of the article in the country from 
which it comes, as shown by an invoice accompanying 
it. A duty of a dollar a yard on silk would be specific ; 
a duty of forty per cent on silk would be ad valorem. 

Congress prescribes the rate of duties to be paid on 

different articles of merchandise, and the 

Tariff 
mode of collection. A schedule of dutiable 

goods, with the rate upon each, is called a tariff. 

Officers are appointed to inspect all merchandise, to 
assess the duties upon it, and to collect collection of 
these. All duties are paid by the importer. Duties. 
For convenience in collection, custom-houses are estab- 
lished at different places on the seacoast, on the naviga- 
ble rivers, and on the boundary-line between the States 
and the Dominion of Canada. 

During the war of the Rebellion, and the war with 
Spain, excise duties were levied upon a large number 
of articles of home production and use ; but most of 
them have since been withdrawn. Taxes of this kind 
are still levied upon the manufacture of distilled and 
fermented liquors, of tobacco, and some other articles. 
Some stamp duties are also levied. These taxes are 
collected by Internal Revenue officers. 



264 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

In time of peace, the duties upon imports have been 
Power to Bor- sufficient to meet the expenses of the gov- 
row Money. ernment ; but, to meet extraordinary ex- 
penses, Congress has the power to borrow money on 
the credit of the United States. Congress by law deter- 
mines the amount to be borrowed, the kind of securities 
to be given, the rate of interest to be paid, and the time 
and place of payment of principal and interest. The 
money is actually borrowed by the secretary of the 
treasury. Under this provision of the Constitution, 
Congress authorized the issue of United States notes, 
payable on demand, without interest, and made them 
legal tender, that is, lawful money for the payment 
of debts. 

Congress has not only the power to provide for a 

revenue, but the complete control of all 
Expenditures. -,., , T , , 

expenditures. JNo money can be drawn 

from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations 

made by law ; and a regular statement of all receipts 

and expenditures is required to be published from time 

to time. 

2. RESPECTING COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL 
INTERESTS. 

The Constitution gives to Congress power to regulate 
commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes. 

Under this grant Congress declares what vessels are 
Regulation of entitled to protection as American, by 
Commerce. what process protection may be secured, 

at what ports vessels may land cargoes, what rules 
shall govern the entering and leaving ports. It makes 
rules for the government of seamen on board of Ameri- 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 265 

can vessels, provides for administering justice to sea- 
men through its courts, and sends consuls to all foreign 
ports to look after the commercial interests of Ameri- 
can citizens. It surveys the coasts, clears harbors and 
rivers from obstructions, builds breakwaters, erects 
lighthouses and buoys, and enacts laws respecting pilot- 
age, quarantine, and wrecking. 

Besides the power to regulate commerce, Congress has 
other powers which closely concern com- _ . f 
mercial interests. These are, the power to Commercial 
coin money, to fix the value of American n eres s ' 
and foreign coins, to fix the standard of weights and 
measures, to provide for the punishment of counterfeit- 
ing the securities and current coin of the United States, 
and to establish uniform laws on the subject of bank- 
ruptcies throughout the United States. 

For coining money, mints are established at various 
places. The principal one is at Phila- 
delphia ; and there are branches at San 
Francisco ; Carson City, Nev. ; and Denver, Col. There 
are assay offices at New York ; Charlotte, N.C. ; and 
Boise City, Idaho. Gold and silver bullion is received 
at either of these places in amount not less than 
one hundred dollars in value. This is assayed, — 
that is, tested to ascertain the relative amount of pure 
metal in it ; and the depositor receives for it its value 
either in coin or in stamped bars, less a small charge 
for assaying, melting, and coining. The mint and 
branches are in charge of persons appointed by the 
president. Congress determines what coins shall be 
issued, and the standard fineness of each, regulates 
the charges for coining, and makes all rules for the 
conduct of the business. 



266 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Although Congress has the power to fix the standard 
Weights and °f weights and measures for the country, 
Measures. ft h as never exercised the power. It has 

adopted the English units for the use of the officers of 
the government in the custom-houses, and the Troy 
pound for the mints, and has furnished copies of these to 
the States, but has not made their use obligatory. There 
is still considerable diversity in different sections of the 
country. Congress has also legalized the use of the 
metric system. 

The object of bankrupt laws is to free debtors from 
Bankrupt a ^ their obligations on giving up their 

Laws - property to their creditors. When the 

relation of debtor and creditor is held by citizens of 
different States, it is desirable that the laws regulating 
their relation should be uniform, or great injustice 
might be done, and the commerce between the States 
checked. This uniformity can only be secured by the 
action of Congress. 



3. RESPECTING NATURALIZATION. 

Congress has the power to establish a uniform rule 
of naturalization. As the citizens of one State have all 
the rights of citizens in every other State, it is necessary 
that the qualifications for citizenship should be the same 
in all. The process of naturalization consists of two 
Declaration of steps. The first is the declaration of 
Intention. intention to become a citizen of the United 

States. This must be made on oath before a circuit or 
district court of the United States; or before a State 
court of record having common law jurisdiction, a clerk, 
and a seal. This declaration is recorded, and a certificate 
given to the person. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 267 

At least two years must elapse before the second 
step, — the oath of allegiance. The person must prove 
by witness upon oath, that he has resided oath, of Allegi- 
in the United States at least five years, and ance - 
in the State in which he wishes to be naturalized at 
least one year ; and that during this time he has borne 
a good moral character, and has been well disposed 
toward, the Constitution and government. He then 
makes a written declaration, and supports it by oath, 
that he renounces allegiance to all foreign powers, and 
especially the one to which he has been subject, and 
that he will support the Constitution of the United 
States. A certificate of citizenship is then given him 
by the court. 

If the applicant was under eighteen years of age 
when he came to this country, the decla- 
ration of intention is dispensed with, but 
the five years of residence must be proved. A soldier 
who has served in the United States army and been hon- 
orably discharged, may become a citizen, after a residence 
of one year, on taking the oath of allegiance. The wife 
and minor children, if living in the country, become citi- 
zens by the naturalization of the husband and father. 



4. RESPECTING POSTAL COMMUNICATION. 

Congress has the power " to establish post-offices and 
post-roads." This includes all that is necessary to 
secure prompt delivery of the mails in any part of the 
country. The ordinary routes of travel, highways and 
railroads, are adopted by the government as post-roads. 
Congress declares by law what matter may be trans- 



268 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ported through the mails and at what rates, fixes the 
salaries of all officers connected with the service, and 
prescribes how contracts shall be made for carrying the 
mails, and for furnishing the necessary articles for the 
department. The postal money-order system has also 
been established by Congress, under this provision of 
the Constitution. 



5. RESPECTING PATENTS AND COPYRIGHTS. 

Congress has the power " to promote the progress of 
science and the useful arts by securing for limited times 
to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their 
respective writings and discoveries." 

A patent is a written instrument by which the gov- 
ernment secures to an inventor the exclu- 
sive right to manufacture and sell his 
invention. The invention may be an art, a machine, 
a manufacture, or a composition of matter, or any new 
and useful improvement thereon. The patent is issued 
for a term of seventeen years. 

A copyright is the exclusive privilege granted by 

government to print, publish, and sell copies 
Copyright. & „ ... n > r\ • i^ 

oi writings or drawings. Copyrights are 

issued to residents of the United States or of such for- 
eign nations as grant corresponding privileges. They 
cover books, maps, charts, musical compositions, prints, 
cuts, and engravings, and the representation of dramatic 
co*»positions. The copyright is issued by the libra- 
rian of Congress, and is valid for a term of twenty- 
eight years. At the end of that time, the author or 
his heirs may secure an extension of the right for four- 
teen years. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 269 

6. RESPECTING THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 

The Constitution provides for a supreme court, but 
gives to Congress power to constitute inferior tribunals. 
Under this power the circuit and district courts, and 
the court of claims, have been established, and the 
modes of performing their functions regulated. 

Congress has certain other powers which necessarily 
grow out of the sovereignty of the United States. 

One of these is, " to define and punish piracies and 

felonies committed on the high seas, and 

Piracy, 
offences against the law of nations." The 

term " high seas " means the unenclosed waters of the 
ocean, and also those waters on the seacoast which are 
without the boundary of low-water mark. By the law 
of nations, piracy is denned as a robbery or forcible 
depredation on the high seas, without lawful authority, 
in the spirit of universal hostility. Congress declared 
that murder and robber}' on the high seas, or any offence 
which if committed on land would be punishable with 
death, shall be considered piracy and felony. The 
slave-trade has also been declared to be piracy. Piracy 
is punishable with death. 

The power is also given to Congress to declare the 
punishment of treason ; but the Constitu- 
tion defines the crime, and limits the pen- 
alty. Treason against the United States consists " only 
in levying war against them, or in adhering to their 
enemies, giving them aid and comfort." It is further 
declared that " no person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testimon}^ of two witnesses to the same 
overt act, or on confession in open court." The student 
of English history will recall the gross injustice perpe- 



270 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

trated during the reigns of the Tudors and Stuarts by 
calling the most trivial offences treason, and will see the 
wisdom and prudence of those who guarded against 
such oppression in our own country. Congress has 
made treason punishable with death. The punishment 
by the common law of England was most barbarous ; 
and the convicted person could neither inherit estates, 
nor retain those already possessed, nor transmit them to 
any heir. He also forfeited all personal property. But 
the Constitution of the United States does not allow 
the guilt of the traitor to be visited upon his children. 

7. RESPECTING WAE. 

Congress has the power " to declare war, grant letters 
of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning 
captures on land and water." A letter of marque and 
Letter of reprisal is a commission granted by the 

Marque. government to a private individual to take 

property of a foreign state, or of the citizens or subjects 
of such state, as a reparation for injury committed by 
such state, or by its citizens or subjects. 

Congress has power to raise and support armies, and 
to provide and maintain a navy, and to make rules for 
the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces. In the exercise of this power, Congress deter- 
United States mines what number of troops shall be 
Army. maintained in each branch of military 

service ; the manner of organizing and disciplining 
them ; the number, rank, and pay of officers ; the way 
in which the army shall be supplied. It establishes 
armories for making, and arsenals for storing arms. It 
has made careful surveys of the territory of the United 
States for the construction of army maps. It provides 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 271 

for the care of the national cemeteries, where the bodies 
of those who have died in their country's service find 
a last resting-place. It has also established and main- 
tained a military academy at West Point for the educa- 
tion of army officers. The army, in time of peace, is 
scattered over the United States and its island posses- 
sions, doing garrison duty in the forts on the coast, pro- 
tecting the frontier settlements from hostile natives, or 
making explorations and surveys. 

Congress determines of what the navy shall consist, 
and how it shall be organized and officered, united states 
It maintains navy-yards for the construe- Nay y- 
tion and repair of vessels ; and an academy at Annapo- 
lis, Md., for the education of naval officers. In time of 
peace, a part of the vessels are at the navy-yards ; and 
the others are stationed in the various waters of the 
globe, to protect the interests of the United States and 
the persons and property of her citizens. Ocean sur- 
veys are made, to aid in the construction of charts. 

Besides the power to support the regular army, Con- 
gress has the power to provide for calling 
out the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrection, and repel invasion. In 
the exercise of this power, Congress has by law con- 
ferred upon the president the power to call forth the 
militia for the purposes specified in the Constitution ; and 
the supreme court has decided that the president is the 
sole judge of the necessity of issuing the call. Con- 
gress also provides for organizing, arming, and disciplin- 
ing the militia, and for governing such portion of them 
as may be employed in the service of the United States. 
Each State officers and trains its own militia, according 
to the regulations prescribed by Congress. 



272 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 



8. RESPECTING THE TERRITORY AND PROPERTY OF 
THE UNITED STATES. 

The Constitution gives to Congress the power to 
Seat of Govern- exercise " exclusive legislation in all cases 
ment. whatsoever " over the District of Colum- 

bia, and over all places purchased by the government 
for its own use, as for forts, navy-yards, &c. The Dis- 
trict of Columbia was originally a tract of land ten 
miles square, lying on both sides of the Potomac River, 
ceded to the United States by Maryland and Virginia. 
In 1846 the part south of the river was given back to 
Virginia. As this district is not a part of any State, its 
inhabitants are not represented in Congress, nor in the 
choice of president. Congress once gave charters to 
the cities of Washington and Georgetown ; later Con- 
gress established a government similar to that of the 
western Territories ; now the affairs of the District are 
in the hands of three commissioners appointed by the 
president. 

All purchases of land by the United States, for the 
erection of public buildings or works, must be made 
with the consent of the legislature of the State in 
which the land is situated. 

Congress also has the power to dispose of, and make 
all needful rules and regulations respect- 
ing, the territory or other property belong- 
ing to the United States. The territory of the United 
States has been obtained in various ways, — from the in- 
dividual States by cession, from foreign nations by pur- 
chase or by war, from the Indians by purchase, and, as 
in the cases of Texas and Hawaii, by direct annexation. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 273 

The territory granted to several of the colonies by 
their charters extended to the Pacific Cession by 

Ocean; and after the Revolution these states. 

States claimed this land as far west as the Mississippi. 
The other States denied the justice of the claim, and 
refused to ratify the articles of confederation unless the 
unoccupied territory were given up to Congress, to be 
held for the benefit of all the States. After much dis- 
cussion, the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Geor- 
gia, gave up the title to the unoccupied Western land. 

The country north of the Ohio River was called the 
Northwest Territory. In 1787 Congress Ordinance of 
passed a famous Ordinance to provide for 1787, 
its government. The right of taxation was asserted, all 
civil rights were guaranteed, slavery was prohibited, and 
the declaration made that not less than three nor more 
than five new States should be formed from the territory, 
and admitted to the Union on equal terms with the origi- 
nal States. 

France had originally claimed the territory west of 
the Alleghany Mountains, but in 1763 had Louisiana and 
given up all east of the Mississippi River. Florida. 
In 1803 the United States by treaty with France pur- 
chased the territory south of the thirty-first parallel of 
latitude, between the Perdido and Mississippi Rivers, 
and all between the latter river and Mexico. This 
was divided into the Territory of Orleans, and the Dis- 
trict of Louisiana. In 1819 Florida was purchased of 

Spain. In 1845 Texas, which had pre- 

7 Texas, 

viously withdrawn its allegiance from Mex- 
ico, and had fought to maintain its independence, at its 
own request was annexed to the United States. This 



274 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

was considered an act of hostility by Mexico ; and the 
Mexican war followed. This was closed by a treaty 
California and in 1848 ; by which Mexico, for a sum of 
Alaska. money, ceded New Mexico and California 

to the United States. In 1867 the territory of Alaska 
was purchased of Russia. 

In 1898 the Hawaiian Islands were annexed to the 
United States on the request of the inhabitants. In 
the same year, by the treaty of peace with Spain, Porto 
Rico, the Philippine Islands, and the island of Guam 
were ceded to the United States. 

Most of the territory acquired by the earlier ces- 
Extinction of sions and purchase was occupied by Indian 
Indian Eights, tribes. In order to open the country to 
white settlers, the various tribes were compelled to give 
up their right of occupancy. To those east of the 
Mississippi River, land was granted in what is now 
the Indian Territory ; and they were removed thither. 
The western tribes have gradually been compelled to 
give up their roving habits, and confine themselves to 
reservations set apart by Congress. 

Congress, in the exercise of the right to dispose of 
Disposal of territory, has had surveys of it made, and 
Territory. h as provided for selling it to actual set- 

tlers. It has also given it to discharged soldiers, and 
has made extensive grants to railroad corporations. 

From time to time, as the population has increased, 
Organized Ter- portions of this territory have been or- 
ritories. ganized for government. The act of Con- 

gress by which a Territory is organized has the same 
relation as a constitution in a State government. It 
fixes the qualification of voters ; establishes a legisla- 
tive department of two branches chosen by the people ; 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 275 

provides for the appointment of a governor, a secretary, 
and judicial officers, by the President of the United 
States ; determines the relations of the departments ; 
and limits the powers of the government. Thus the 
principle of local self-government on which the republic 
rests is respected ; but the people, not being inhabitants 
of a State, have no voice in the general government. 
As has been stated in a previous chapter, the interests 
of the people are represented in Congress by a delegate, 
who may participate in debate, but cannot vote. 

Congress has the power to admit new States into the 
Union. Two modes of procedure have Admission of 
been followed at different times. Usually states, 
the people of a Territory form a State constitution, and 
submit it to Congress with a petition for admission to 
the Union. If the government proposed is republican 
in form, Congress may pass an act of admission. Some- 
times Congress takes the first step by passing an en- 
abling act. This allows the people to 

° . . . Enabling Acts, 

form a State constitution at a certain time, 

and authorizes the president to issue a proclamation 
recognizing the new State if the government is repub- 
lican in form. 

The following States have been admitted : 

Vermont, claimed by New Hampshire and New York, admitted 1791. 

Kentucky, ceded by Virginia, " 1792. 

Tennessee, ceded by North Carolina, " 1796. 

Ohio, a part of the North- "West Territory, " 1803. 

Louisiana, acquired from France, " 1812. 

Indiana, a part of the North- West Territory, " 1816. 

Mississippi, ceded by South Carolina and Georgia, " 1817. 

Illinois, a part of the North-West Territory, " 1818. 

Alabama, ceded by South Carolina and Georgia, " 1819. 

Maine, set off from Massachusetts, " 1820. 

Missouri, acquired from France, " 1821. 



276 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Arkansas, acquired from France, 

Michigan, a part of the North- West Territory, 

Florida, acquired from Spain, 

Texas, a revolted province of Mexico, 

Iowa, acquired from France, 

Wisconsin, a part of the North-West Territory, 

California, acquired from Mexico, 

Minnesota, chiefly acquired from France, 

Oregon, acquired by exploration and settlement, 

Kansas, acquired from France, 

West Virginia, a part of Virginia, 

Nevada, acquired from Mexico, 

Nebraska, acquired from France, 

Colorado, acquired from France and Mexico, 

North Dakota, acquired from France, 

South Dakota, acquired from France, 

Washington, acquired with Oregon, 

Montana, part from France and part with Oregon, 

Idaho, acquired with Oregon, 

Wyoming, acquired from France, 

Utah, acquired from Mexico, 



9. RESPECTING AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Amendments may be proposed in either of two ways : 

first, by Congress, two-thirds of both houses 
How Proposed. . , , „ J , 

agreeing ; second, by a convention tor the 

purpose, called by Congress on application of the legis- 
latures of two-thirds of the States. 

These amendments may become valid as parts of the 

Constitution by being ratified in either of 
How Ratified. „ J , & . 

two weijs : first, by the legislatures of 

three-fourths of the States ; second, by conventions in 

three-fourths of the States. Congress may determine 

which of these two modes shall be used. 

Fifteen amendments have been ratified. The absence 

of any bill of rights in the Constitution excited the 

jealousy of the people of some of the States ; and they 



admitted 


1836. 


u 


1837. 


(< 


1845. 


it 


1845. 


u 


1846. 


u 


1848. 


u 


1850. 


u 


1858. 


(( 


1859. 


(4 


1861. 


« I 


1863. 


« 


1864. 


(( 


1867. 


" 


1876. 


" 


1889. 


" 


1889. 


" 


1889. 


u 


1889. 


" 


1890. 


i I 


1890. 


" 


1896. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 277 

urged the immediate adoption of amendments to sup- 
ply the omission. Accordingly ten amend- Subject of Firgt 
ments were finally ratified by three-fourths Eight Amend- 
of the States in 1791. Eight of these ments> 
guaranteed the following rights : religious freedom, and 
freedom of speech and of the press ; the right of assem- 
bly and petition; the right to keep and bear arms; 
exemption from quartering soldiers ; security from un- 
lawful search and seizure ; prompt and impartial jus- 
tice, and trial by jury ; exemption from excessive bail, 
and from cruel and unusual punishments. 

The ninth amendment declares that the enumeration of 
the above rights does not imply that others Ninth, Tenth, 
may be violated. The tenth reserves to and Eleventh, 
the States or to the people all rights not delegated to 
the general government. The eleventh, ratified in 1798, 
relates to the judicial power of the United States. 

The twelfth, ratified in 1804, was occasioned by the 
contest in the house of representatives Twelfth and 
which resulted in the election of Thomas Thirteenth. 
Jefferson as president. It prescribes the manner of 
electing the president and vice-president. The thir- 
teenth, ratified in 1865, abolished and prohibited slavery 
within the United States. 

The fourteenth, ratified in 1868, guarantees political 
and civil rights to all persons born or Fourteenth and 
naturalized in the United States ; changes Fifteenth, 
the rule of apportionment of representatives and direct 
taxes, to adapt it to a wholly free population ; excludes 
from office under the United States and in the States 
those rebels who have violated a previous oath of alle- 
giance, but gives to two-thirds of Congress the power 
to remove this disability; establishes the validity of 



278 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

the public debt of the United States; forbids the 
payment by the United States or by any State of any 
debt incurred in aid of rebellion, or any claim for 
emancipated slaves ; gives to Congress power to enforce 
the provisions of the amendment by legislation. The 
fifteenth, ratified in 1870, guarantees the right of suf- 
frage to freedmen, and gives to- Congress power to 
enforce the act by legislation. 

10. RESPECTING IMPEACHMENT. 

By the United States Constitution, the persons who 
Who may be may be impeached are the president, vice- 
Impeached, president, and all civil officers of the 
United States. The term " civil officers " includes all 
executive and judicial officers of the national govern- 
ment, except those of the army and navy. The mem- 
bers of Congress are not considered United States 
officers. Civil officers of the States are liable to im- 
peachment by the State legislatures. 

The offences for which the United States officers 
Impeachable may be impeached are treason, bribery, 
Offences. anc [ ther high crimes and misdemeanors. 

Treason is defined by the Constitution itself; and the 
other offences are determined according to the princi- 
ples of parliamentary usage and the common law. In 
the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, in 1868, the 
offences charged were the unlawful removal from office 
of the secretary of war, the appointment of another 
person to the same office, and the forcible attempt to 
obtain possession of the war department. These were 
called high crimes and misdemeanors. 

The Constitution gives to the house of representa- 
tives the sole power of impeachment. The steps in the 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 279 

process are as follows: 1. A resolution to impeach, 
naming the person and his office and the Mode of Im- 
offence. 2. The appointment of a com- peachment. 
mittee, who appear before the senate, and, in the name 
of the house of representatives and the people of the 
United States, make the impeachment, and demand 
that the accused be summoned to answer the charges. 
3. The appointment of a committee to prepare articles 
of impeachment. 4. The appointment of a committee 
to act for the house of representatives in the trial. 

The senate has the sole power to try impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, the mem- 
bers are required to be on oath or affir- 
mation. When the president of the United States is 
tried, the chief justice of the supreme court presides. 
The senate establishes rules to govern its procedure. 
The whole house of representatives appears before the 
senate, and the managers present the articles of im- 
peachment. A day is fixed for the trial, and then the 
proceedings follow as in a court of justice. After 
the evidence has been presented, and the arguments of 
the managers and of the defendant's council have been 
made, each senator is required to answer " Guilty," or 
" Not guilty," to each of the articles. The Constitution 
requires for conviction the concurrence of two-thirds of 
the senators present. 

The Constitution provides that "judgment in cases 
of impeachment shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualifi- 
cation to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under 
the United States ; but the party convicted shall never- 
theless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judg- 
ment and punishment, according to law." 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 
1. AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 

The president is commander-in-chief of the armb- 
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of 
the States when in the actual service of the United 
States. In the exercise of this power, he appoints and 
removes officers, assigns their stations and duties, and 
directs the movements of the forces. 

2. RESPECTING PARDONS. 

He has power to grant reprieves and pardons for 
offences against the United States, except in cases of 
impeachment. A reprieve is the withdrawing of a 
sentence for an interval of time, thereby delaying exe- 
cution. 

3. RESPECTING TREATIES. 

He has power, by and with the advice and consent 
Definition of of the senate, to make treaties, provided 
Treaty. two-thirds of the senators present concur. 

A treaty is a compact between two or more independ- 
ent nations, with a view to the public welfare. The 
principal subjects of treaties are peace, 
alliance, territory, boundaries, the settle- 
280 



POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 281 

ment of claims, redress of grievances, commerce, navi- 
gation, naturalization, and the giving-up of fugitives 
from justice. Treaties on the last subject are called 
" extradition treaties." 

Treaties are usually made by agents representing the 
two governments, the agent of the United 
States being under the direction of the 
president. The papers are then laid before the senate, 
and discussed, where the treaty may be amended, 
accepted, or rejected. Any amendment must be ac- 
cepted by the president and by the other government. 
As the Constitution declares that treaties, as well as the 
Constitution itself, are the supreme law of the land, the 
making of treaties is both legislative and executive 
business : hence the propriety of investing the senate 
with a share of the power. 



4. RESPECTING APPOINTMENTS. 

The president is required to nominate, and, by and 
with the advice and consent of the senate, Extent of 

to appoint, ambassadors, other public min- Power. 

isters and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all 
other officers of the United States whose appointment 
is not otherwise provided for in the Constitution, and 
which are established by law. But Congress has the 
power to vest the appointment of such inferior officers 
as it thinks proper in the president alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The filling of an office by the president includes 
four steps : a nomination in writing by the 
president, a vote to confirm by the senate, 
the appointment by the president, and the issuing of a 



282 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

commission signed by the president, and sealed with the 
seal of the United States. 

The power of removal from office has until recently 
been supposed to be wholly in the hands 
of the president ; but now a law .requires 
the consent of the senate to removals, as well as ap- 
pointments. During a recess of the senate, the presi- 
dent may suspend an officer, except a judge of a 
United States Court, until the end of the next session 
of the senate, and may appoint a person to fill the tem- 
porary vacancy. But, within thirty days after the com- 
mencement of the next session of Congress, he must 
nominate a person for permanent appointment. 

The president has the power to appoint ambassadors 
Public Minis- an ^ other public ministers. A Minister is 
ters * a person sent by a government to represent 

it in the transaction of business with another govern- 
ment. The term includes officers of various grades. 
They are called diplomatic agents. It is customary for 
civilized nations to send representatives to all those for- 
eign nations with whom they desire to maintain friendly 
intercourse. These officers usually live at the capital of 
the country to which they are sent. They are sup- 
ported by their own government, and report to it all 
matters that concern its interests. Through them busi- 
ness is transacted and courtesies are exchanged. The 
United States sends ministers with the following titles : 
minister-plenipotentiary and envoy-extraordinary, min- 
ister-resident, and char ge-cf affaires. The Constitution 
requires the president to receive ambassadors and for- 
eign ministers. 

The president also appoints consuls. A consul is a 
commercial agent appointed by a government to reside 



POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 283 

in a foreign country, and attend to the commercial inter- 
ests of his nation. He is not a diplomatic 
agent, but must receive a permit, called 
an exequatur, from the government to which he is sent, 
before he can exercise the functions of his office. This 
permit may be revoked at any time. The business of 
the consul is very miscellaneous, including 
receiving declarations made by seamen or 
others respecting American commerce, administering on 
the estates of American citizens dying within their con- 
sulate without legal representatives, taking charge of 
stranded American vessels in the absence of interested 
parties, settling disputes between masters of vessels and 
the crews, providing for destitute seamen, and sending 
them to the United States at the public expense. Con- 
suls are paid by salary or by fees. Both are fixed by 
Congress. 

Among the officers whose appointment is by law 
vested in the president, are the chief offi- Appointments 
cers of the various executive departments, by Law. 
the judges of the various United States courts, district- 
attorneys and marshals, executive and judicial terri- 
torial officers, some postmasters, the more important 
customs and excise officers, and officers of the army 
and navy. 

The senate may not be in session when a vacancy 
occurs in an office subject to the appoint- vacancies 
ment of the president ; and delay might during Recess, 
damage public interests. The president has the power 
to fill all such vacancies by issuing commissions to ex- 
pire at the end of the next session of the senate. Dur- 
ing the session, it is expected that he will nominate a 
person for permanent appointment. 



284 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 



5. RESPECTING MESSAGES. 

The president is required to give to Congress, from 
time to time, information of the state of the Union, and 
to recommend such measures as he may judge neces- 
sary and expedient. Accordingly, at the opening of 
each annual session of Congress, he sends a message 
embodying his opinions and suggestions, accompanied 
by detailed reports of all branches of the executive 
service. These department reports contain a vast 
amount of information respecting the state of the coun- 
try, its resources, and the progress of their develop- 
ment. The president also sends messages during the 
sessions, either in answer to calls for information, or at 
his own pleasure. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 

Besides these special duties that have been con- 
sidered, the president, as the chief executive officer, is 
required to see that all laws are faithfully executed. 
This work necessitates the employment of a large 
number of subordinate officers, and a careful distribu- 
tion of functions. All the executive business is distrib- 
uted among eight departments constituted by acts of Con- 
gress. The chief officers are : Secretary of State, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Secretary of the 
Navy, Secretary of the Interior, Postmaster- 
General, Attorney-General, Secretary of 
Agriculture. These officers constitute the president's 
cabinet. The Constitution gives him the right to 
require their opinion in writing upon any subject re- 
lating to the duties of their respective offices ; but he is 
not bound to follow their advice, nor is their consent 



POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 285 

required to any executive measure. The cabinet is not 
a limiting body, and in this respect differs from the 
executive council in some of the State governments. 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

The functions of this department are of two kinds ; 
those relating to domestic affairs, and those relating to 
the foreign relations of the government. The depart- 
ment has the custody of the seal of the United States, 
and affixes it to all state documents, with the signature 
of the secretary. It has the keeping of the laws of 
the United States, and promulgates them. Through 
this department the president corresponds with and 
instructs the consuls and diplomatic agents of the gov- 
ernment, negotiates with foreign nations, and receives 
communications from their agents. Passports — that 
is, certificates of citizenship — are issued by this depart- 
ment to persons needing them for the purpose of for- 
eign travel. 

TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 

This department has charge of executive business 
connected with the finances of the government. It 
prepares plans for the management of the public 
revenue, and the improvement of the public credit ; 
makes estimates of the revenue and expenditures, and 
suggests ways to increase the former, and diminish the 
latter ; receives and disburses all moneys coming to the 
government ; superintends the collection of the rev- 
enue. The secretary of the treasury is the agent of the 
government in borrowing money ; and the various 
securities issued are prepared under his direction. 
This department also has charge of the mints of the 
United States, of the coast survey, and of the erection 



286 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

and maintenance of light-houses and other safe-guards 
for navigation. It attends to the execution of all laws 
relating to commerce and navigation. 

¥AE DEPARTMENT. 

Through this department the president superintends 
all business relating to the military forces of the United 
States. It has charge of the army rolls and registers, of 
military equipments and supplies, of the transportation, 
pay, and subsistence of the troops ; of military hospitals, 
arsenals, and armories ; of the military academy and of 
military surveys. Through it all orders are issued, and to. 
it reports are made by the officers in the different branches 
of the service. It also administers military justice. 

NAVY DEPARTMENT. 

This department has the general charge of the naval 
force of the United States. It superintends the pur- 
chase, building, and repair of vessels ; has the care of 
all navy-yards and docks ; provides for the equipment 
of vessels and crews, and for the clothing, subsistence, 
health, and pay of officers and men ; issues all orders, 
and receives reports ; has charge of the naval academy, 
and of scientific expeditions to foreign countries. 

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 

Through this department all laws respecting the 
postal system of the country are executed. It estab- 
lishes post-offices ; selects post routes ; makes contracts 
for postal supplies, and for carrying the mails ; appoints 
most of the postmasters, directs all, and receives reports 
from all ; provides and distributes stamps, envelopes, 
and postal cards ; has charge of the money-order system. 



POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 287 

The postmaster-general has the power to conclude postal 
conventions, as they are called, by which the postal com- 
munication with foreign nations is regulated. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 

The business of this department is more miscellaneous 
than that of any other. It has the general charge and 
superintendence of public lands and public buildings, 
of pensions, of patents, of Indian affairs, of the census, 
of mines, of the bureau of education, which collects and 
disseminates through the country information respect- 
ing public education. Each of these divisions is in 
charge of a commissioner. 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. 

At the head of this department is the Attorney- 
General. He conducts suits in the supreme court in 
which the United States is a party, and gives legal 
advice, when requested, to the president and Congress 
and heads of departments. The subordinate officers are 
called solicitors, and have charge of legal matters grow- 
ing out of the business of the several departments. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

This department collects and publishes information 
respecting the various branches of agriculture. It seeks 
to discover new and improved varieties of vegetable 
products, and distributes seeds of these over the coun- 
try. It maintains experiment stations for testing the 
adaptability of the soil and climate of the United States 
to the productions of foreign countries. It maintains 
the signal service for the preparation and publication 
of weather reports. 



288 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 
JUDICIAL POWER OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The Constitution says that the judicial power shall 
Extent of Juris- extend to all cases in law and equity aris- 
diction. j n g under the Constitution, the laws of the 

United States, and treaties made under the authority 
of the United States. This includes civil and criminal 
cases. 

The phrase " law and equity " refers to two distinct 
Law and kinds of judicial procedure. The first 

Equity. includes all cases that can be settled by 

the direct application of statutes or the principles of 
the common law. Equity jurisdiction is intended to 
reach a large class of cases for which the common -law 
courts furnish no remedy. The two differ materially in 
the mode of proof used, and the modes of affording 
remedy. 

Three classes of cases are spoken of: first, those 
Classes of whose settlement depends upon an inter- 

Cases, pretation of some provision of the Consti- 

tution of the United States ; second, those which arise 
from violation of some law of Congress; third, those 
which arise from violation of some treaty stipulation 
between the United States and a foreign nation. 

While all cases arising in the three classes just men- 
Division of tioned come within the jurisdiction of the 
Jurisdiction. courts of the United States, the Constitu- 
tion has restricted certain kinds of cases to the 
supreme court, leaving others to the inferior courts, 
or to be begun in them and finished in the supreme 
court. 

The supreme court has original jurisdiction in two 
classes of cases only, — those affecting ambassadors, 



POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 289 

other public ministers, and consuls ; and those in which 
a State is a party. The latter include „ . . , , . 

, Original Juris- 

controversies between two or more States; diction of Su- 

between a State, and citizens of another P^me Court. 

State ; between a State, and foreign nations, citizens, or 

subjects ; between the citizens of a State, and foreign 

nations, citizens, or subjects. The eleventh amendment 

prohibits any suit against a State either by a citizen of 

another State, or by a citizen or subject of a foreign 

nation. 

The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction both as 
to law and fact, with such exceptions and Appellate Juris- 
under such regulations as Congress shall diction, 
make, in all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdic- 
tion ; in controversies in which the United States is a 
party ; in controversies between citizens of different 
States ; in controversies between citizens of the same 
State claiming lands under grants of different States. 

Admiralty and maritime jurisdiction includes all suits 
originating on the high seas, such as those Admiralty and 
concerning captures by naval forces in Maritime Cases, 
time of war, and those growing out of the relations 
between the owners, officers, and crews of vessels. Of 
these cases the district and circuit courts have original 
jurisdiction ; but they may be carried to the supreme 
court for final adjustment. 

The supreme court may not only re-examine cases 
from the inferior courts of the United States, but also 
from the State courts in cases which involve the inter- 
pretation of the Constitution or laws of the United 
States, or of treaties made under them. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

PROVISIONS RESPECTING STATES. 
PROHIBITIONS UPON THE STATES. 

The States are absolutely forbidden by the Constitu- 
Conceming For- tion to enter into any treaty, alliance, or 
eign Relations, confederation ; or to grant letters of marque 
and reprisal ; they are also forbidden to keep troops or 
ships of war in time of peace, without the consent of 
Congress ; nor may they without such consent enter into 
any agreement or compact with another State or foreign 
power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in 
such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. The 
States, as such, have no relation to foreign powers. 
They assumed this as a fundamental principle of their 
Union, when they refused to treat separately with Great 
Britain just before the war for independence. During 
the war, the Continental Congress represented the 
United States in their intercourse with other nations. 
Next, the same powers were vested in the Congress of 
the confederation ; and now the principle is embodied in 
the Constitution. If each State were free to engage in 
war, and to negotiate privately with foreign govern- 
ments, there would be no security for the permanence 
of the Union, or for the continuance of the liberties of 
the people. The States must stand or fall together. 

290 



PROVISIONS RESPECTING STATES. 291 

The States are forbidden to coin money, to emit bills 
of credit, to make any thing but gold and Concerning 

silver coin a tender in payment of debts. Commerce and 

r J Commercial 

They are also forbidden to lay any duty of interests. 

tonnage without the consent of Congress ; nor may they 
lay duties on imports or exports except for special pur- 
poses, and under the control of Congress. It will be 
remembered that the immediate cause which led to the 
formation of the Constitution was the trouble arising 
from State legislation respecting commerce. Inequality 
of taxation of imports produced ill feeling between the 
States, and checked the commercial prosperity of all. 
Hence the propriety of giving to the general government 
exclusive power in this direction. Tonnage duties — 
that is, charges upon vessels in proportion to their carry- 
ing capacity — are forbidden for the same reason. These 
duties are not now levied by Congress. The general 
government, too, has exclusive control of the currency. 
Corporations within the States, as banks, have been 
allowed to issue bills of credit, that is, notes designed 
to circulate as money ; but these were not legal tender, 
and the holders might at any time demand gold or 
silver coin for them. 

The States are forbidden to pass any law impairing 
the obligation of contracts. In the days concerning Pri- 
of the Roman republic, the State repeat- vate Rights, 
edly made general laws for the relief of debtors, freeing 
them entirely or partly from their obligations. Such 
laws, and all involving the same principle, are forbid- 
den. No State may pass any bill of attainder, or ex 
post facto law. Congress is also forbidden to pass such 
laws. The phrase, " bill of attainder," refers to those 
features of English law by which persons convicted of 



292 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

treason suffer forfeiture of property, and lose the power 
to transmit to their descendants, so that the children 
suffer with the parent. An ex post facto law is a law 
made to punish acts previously committed, and which 
were not punishable, or not punishable in the same 
manner, by any preceding law. 

The fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Con- 
Concerning stitution lay certain prohibitions upon the 
Freedmen. States, designed especially to protect the 

colored people who have become citizens by the aboli- 
tion of slavery. No State may make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citi- 
zens of the United States; nor may any State deprive 
any person of life, liberty, or property without due 
process of law, nor deny to any person within its juris- 
diction the equal protection of its laws. No State may 
deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United 
States to vote, on account of race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude. 

PROTECTION OF STATE RIGHTS. 

In the clause giving to Congress power to admit new 
States into the Union, it is declared that no new State 
may be formed within the jurisdiction of another State, 
nor any State be formed by the junction of two or 
more States or parts of States, without the consent of 
the legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of 
Congress. By this provision, the States secure their 
continued existence as distinct individuals. But it 
makes division possible, as in the separation of Maine 
from Massachusetts, and of West Virginia from Vir- 
ginia. When the Constitution was formed, the small 
States were induced to accept it by giving them equal 



PROVISIONS RESPECTING STATES. 293 

power in the senate with the large ones. To insure 
the safety of these States, it is provided, that no amend- 
ment shall ever be made by which this equal suf- 
frage shall be taken away from any State without its 
consent. To prevent inequality in the treatment of 
the States by the general government, it is provided, 
that no tax or duty may be laid on articles exported 
from any State ; no preference may be given by any 
regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one 
State over those of another ; nor may vessels engaged 
in commerce between the States be made to pay the 
usual charges for entrance and departure to which 
vessels engaged in foreign commerce are subject. 

RELATION OF STATES TO EACH OTHER. 

The preservation of the Union depends upon the 

mutual good feeling: existing anions; the 

o* at 4.1 • if\ f* T4- 1. Public Acts. 

States. Nothing but complete equality 

can prevent jealousies and quarrels. Any assumption 
of superiority by any State would speedily provoke 
a spirit hostile to union. The Constitution guards 
against this by two or three declarations. First, every 
State must give full faith and credit to the public acts, 
records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. 
It cannot question the authority under which they are 
made ; and it must give them full weight as prece- 
dents for judgment. 

The citizens of each State are entitled to all the privi- 
leges and immunities of citizens in every 
other State. Thus the unity of the peo- 
ple is promoted. Any person who can claim protection 
of person and property, transact business, vote, and 
hold office, in one State, may do all these in any other 



294 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

State, without those conditions and limitations to 
which aliens might be subjected. 

Any person charged with crime in one State, and 
3. Fugitives escaping to another, must be delivered up 
from Justice. on demand of the executive of the State 
from which he has fled. There is nothing that com- 
pels an independent nation to deliver up criminals 
who have taken refuge within its territory. Mention 
has already been made of the extradition treaties 
by which the United States has agreed with most of 
the leading nations for a mutual giving-up of fugitives 
from justice. If criminals could escape justice by 
passing from one State of the Union to another, there 
would be an end to justice in these days of easy com- 
munication ; and this would be another fruitful source 
of mutual ill feeling. 

There is another provision in this connection, which 
Fugitives from shows the spirit of concession and corn- 
Service, promise which actuated the people at the 
time of the adoption of the Constitution. The Constitu- 
tion requires that persons held to service or labor under 
the laws of one State, and escaping into another, shall 
not be released from such service ; but shall be delivered 
up to the party claiming the service. Slaves escaping 
from their masters into a non-slaveholding State could 
not become free thereby, but were liable, if discovered, 
to be sent back to their servitude. Though this was 
repugnant to the feelings of the people of some of the 
States, they accepted what seemed at the time a lesser 
evil, for the sake of securing the union they so much 
needed. It is a significant fact, that the word " slave " 
is nowhere used in the Constitution as originally 
adopted. While they tolerated the system, the framers 



PROTECTION OF PRIVATE RIGHTS. 295 

of the Constitution had too much regard for consistency, 
to use the word in a document based on the principles 
of liberty and justice. 

PROVISIONS TO PROTECT PRIVATE RIGHTS. 

The chief safeguard of the people against oppression 
by the national government is contained 
in the provision that the privilege of the 
writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless, in 
cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may 
require it. The Constitution does not declare who shall 
be the judge of the necessity of suspending the privi- 
lege. In 1863 Congress authorized the president to 
suspend the privilege of the writ throughout the whole 
or any part of the United States, whenever in his judg- 
ment the public safety might require it. Accordingly 
it was, by proclamation, suspended in some of the 
States. But, when the emergency had passed, the right 
was promptly restored : military rule ceased ; municipal 
law became again supreme, and free to act through the 
ordinary channels of judicial procedure. This, more 
than the successful prosecution of the war, was the 
grand triumph of the government ; for, though it may 
be easy for a government to acquire power, it is not so 
easy to give it up. 

The Declaration of Independence had stated as a 
self-evident truth, that all men are created T i t i es f Nobil- 
equal: Any artificial division of the peo- it; y- 
pie into classes would be contrary to the fundamental 
principle of the government. Hence the Constitution 
declares that no title of nobility shall be granted by the 
United States or by any State. The Constitution also 
forbids any officer of the United States accepting any 



296 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind what- 
ever, from any king, prince, or foreign state without 
the consent of Congress. Presents have been made by 
foreign sovereigns to some of the presidents of the 
United States; but they have been received officially 
rather than personally, and are preserved as public 
property at the seat of government. Congress fre- 
quently grants permission to officers to accept gifts from 
foreign governments. 

Another private right that has always been dear to 
the American people is trial by jury. This 
is guaranteed by the Constitution itself in 
criminal cases ; and by one of the amendments it is also 
secured in civil suits when the value in controversy 
exceeds twenty dollars. The trial is to be held in the 
State and district where the crime is committed. If 
not committed in any State, Congress by law deter- 
mines where the trial shall be held. 

The people of the States, in forming their own consti- 
tutions, were careful to provide for all 
those civil and political rights for which 
their fathers had struggled in England, and which had 
been denied them by the British Government. They 
knew their worth because they knew what they had 
cost. When the Constitution was presented to them 
for ratification, without any declaration of these rights, 
they naturally hesitated, lest they should by their own 
act create a power that might oppress them. Hence, 
with their ratification, they presented articles of amend- 
ment to supply the defect. These have been noticed 
in a preceding section. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

RELATION OF NATIONAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. 

In the first part of this book it was said, that a state 
is a whole body of people ; that a govern- source of Au- 
ment is a part of that whole body ; that thority. 
authority to govern is in the state , that this authority 
is delegated to the government by the state, under con- 
ditions and limitations ; that the form of the govern- 
ment, and the extent of its powers, are determined by 
the state ; that the state may withdraw its grant of 
powers in part or wholly, and may delegate again to 
the same organization or to a new one. These are 
fundamental principles. In considering the relative 
authority of the national and state governments, we 
have to inquire for the people by whom this authority 
is delegated in each case, and notice their condition 
before these governments were organized. 

Previous to independence, the people of the thirteen 
English colonies in America held two distinct political 
relations, — one national, the other local. They all 
alike belonged to the British nation : its authority, as 
vested in the king and parliament, was supreme. This 
relation they held in common. As subjects of Great 
Britain they were one people. 

In another respect they were distinct. That the 

297 



298 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

functions of local government should be exercised 
directly by the people most concerned, had always been 
a cherished idea of the Anglo-Saxon people. In accord- 
ance with this idea, the people founding the different 
colonies had claimed the right of local self-government. 
The king had so far yielded to this claim as to establish 
separate organizations, in which the people had more or 
less power. Thus the people of the colonies were one 
in their relation to the king, and separate in their local 
organizations. 

During the war for independence, these two relations 
of oneness and diversity continued, but with this 
change. The people of the different colonies created 
permanent organizations for local government, by form- 
ing their several State constitutions. The one people 
of all the colonies established the Continental Congress 
for such general purposes as seemed necessary, but 
made at first no complete and permanent organization. 
As soon as more pressing necessities had been met, they 
established the confederation as a national government, 
leaving the local organizations as they were. But they 
found by short experience, that they had given to the 
national government too little power, and had left to 
the local governments too much. Hence the new 
organization under the Constitution. 

The Constitution was made by the same people that 
formed the confederation. They were one under Brit- 
ish rule, one in the war for independence, one under 
the confederation, and the same one under the Constitu- 
tion. The government organized by the Constitution 
received its authority from this one people. It was 
optional with this people to give up its oneness, to 
establish no national government, to separate itself into 



NATIONAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. 299 

thirteen distinct and independent states, each with all 
the powers of such. It was also optional to vest all the 
functions in the national government, giving to it the 
power to provide for local administration. The first 
course would have been political suicide ; the second 
would have been to throw away what had been a sacred 
birthright of their fathers, cherished through a history 
of a thousand years. They chose neither of these two 
courses, but organized a national government for 
national purposes, and allowed the local governments 
to exist with purely local functions. This idea is 
expressed in the article which says, " The powers not 
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
respectively, or to the people." 

The national government, therefore, receives its 
authority from the whole people of all the States. The 
State governments exercise what authority the same 
people has suffered them to retain. 

The relation of the national and State governments 
to each other is further shown in the Functions of 
nature of the functions of each. So long Each - 
as the American people were a part of the British 
nation, they held no relations to foreign nations. 
France knew them only as British subjects ; and if she 
had declarations of war to make, or treaties of peace to 
negotiate, she dealt with the government of Great 
Britain. She went to headquarters. 

But when, at the beginning of the revolution, the Con- 
tinental Congress addressed the people of Great Britain 
in the name of the American people, and uttered the 
Declaration of Independence in the name of the people 
of the united colonies, France recognized a new nation ; 



300 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

not Massachusetts, nor Virginia, but the American 
people. The States as such have never sought to he 
known by foreign nations, but have always been 
merged in the one people of the United States. 

Hence the national government possesses all those 
functions which grow out of international relations,, 
War and peace, commerce and navigation, all inter- 
course with other nations — these are wholly and exclu- 
sively in the hands of the national government. They 
were not withdrawn from the State governments. The 
State governments had never possessed them, and had 
never claimed them. They were powers wrested from 
Great Britain by the blood and treasure of the one 
American people for itself, and not by or for the 
individual States as such. 

The care and disposal of the unoccupied territory of 
the colonies is another function of the national govern- 
ment, resting on the same basis as those just mentioned. 
This territory had been acquired by the sacrifices of the 
whole people ; and for this reason they claimed it. 

Beside these functions growing out of external rela- 
tions, the national government has to do with every 
thing which concerns the nation as a whole ; such as the 
coining of money, the maintenance of postal communi- 
cation, the issuing of patents. Superadded to all these 
it has the grand attribute of sovereignty, — unlimited 
power of taxation. This it exercises not through the 
state governments, as formerly, but directly, by its own 
officers, it brings its authority to bear upon the whole 
people. The national purse gives efficacy to the nation- 
al sword ; and thus two objects of the Constitution are 
attained, — the common defence* and domestic tran- 
quillity. 



NATIONAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. 301 

A glance at the functions left for the State govern- 
ments to exercise shows them to be purely local, as they 
have always been. Their object is to secure personal 
rights, to provide for the safety and happiness of the 
individuals of the community, to protect men from their 
neighbors. Public education, public health, public 
morals, the detection and punishment of crime, care of 
local industries and interests — these are some of the 
subjects over which the State governments have abso- 
lute control. The people resisted all attempts of the 
British Government to interfere with these functions. 
They never delegated them to any of the national or- 
ganizations. If the time ever comes when the people 
do not look with jealousy upon any attempt to centralize 
these functions, and resist steadfastly all tendencies in 
this direction, that will be the time of the nation's 
greatest peril. Guizot says, " The preponderance of 
local liberties belongs to the infancy of societies. Civili- 
zation incessantly tends to carry power still higher. 
But frequently also, as it ascends, power forgets its ori- 
gin and final destiny ; it forgets that it was founded to 
maintain all rights, to respect all liberties ; and, meeting 
with no further obstacle from the energy of local liber- 
ties, it becomes transformed into despotism." In our 
effort to maintain the wholeness of the nation, we must 
avoid weakening this " energy of local liberties." To 
preserve both in their just relation, is the care. of Ameri- 
can citizens, and the mission of American statesmen. 

It might be inferred, from the source of its authority 
and the nature of its functions, that the National Su- 
national government would be supreme premacy. 
within its sphere. It must be this, or nothing. But 
this supremacy is declared forcibly in the Constitution 



302 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

itself. " This Constitution, and the laws of the United 
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and 
all treaties made or which shall be made under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
law of the land ; and the judges in every State shall be 
bound thereby : any thing in the constitution or laws of 
any State to the contrary notwithstanding." No local 
body of law-makers can set aside any expression of the 
will of the whole people. More than this : the repre- 
sentatives of the States in Congress, the members of the 
State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers 
of the States, are bound by oath or affirmation to support 
the Constitution of the United States. In the exercise 
of their several functions, they are to maintain and 
strengthen the authority of the national government, as 
well as to preserve the local liberties. There need be 
no conflict between the national and the State author- 
ity ; there ought to be none. But, if there should be, 
the supreme obligation of every citizen, as well as of 
every officer, is apparent. His highest allegiance is 
due to the government of the nation as much as if there 
were no local organizations. 

This view of the meaning and force of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States has been established only 
after many years of discussion, and finally by force in 
the Civil War. 

In 1798 the States of Virginia and Kentucky, through 
their legislatures, adopted Resolutions to the effect that 
the powers of the federal government were limited to 
the grants specifically made in the instrument of the 
compact, that whenever the general government assumed 
undelegated powers, its acts were void and of no force, 
and that the States had a right to interpose and protect 



NATIONAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT. 303 

themselves. The States themselves were to be the 
judges of the constitutionality of the acts of the general 
government. 

In 1814, when the people of the New England States 
were greatly disturbed over the commercial policy of 
Jefferson and Madison, many of them gave voice to 
similar opinions in the famous Hartford convention. 

In 1832 South Carolina, aggrieved by the passage of 
successive protective tariff acts by Congress, declared 
these acts null and void, and threatened to secede if 
they were enforced. 

Finally, in 1861, the Southern States, carrying out 
this extreme state-rights doctrine, seceded from the 
Union. The failure of their effort to disrupt the Union 
placed the authority of the Constitution of the United 
States on an impregnable basis. No one now believes 
that there is anywhere in the history or Constitution 
of the nation or of the States any provision for a peace- 
able dissolution of the Union. That can never be any- 
thing but an act of violence. 

The national government, as well as the whole people, 
is pledged to maintain the authority of the National Pro- 
State governments. The Constitution re- tection. 
quires the United States to guarantee to every State 
a republican form of government, and to protect each 
from invasion and domestic insurrection. Just what is 
meant by a republican form of government is not stated ; 
but probably the form of the national government was 
considered republican. The two chief characteristics 
of such a government are, that it is from the people, and 
by the people ; that is, the Constitution is ordained by a 
majority of the people, and the government is actually 
administered by persons chosen by the majority in a 



304 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

constitutional way. If by fraud or violence the power 
in any State should be usurped by an individual, or by 
a faction, it would be the duty of the national govern- 
ment to furnish to the majority of the people all needed 
assistance in regaining their rightful authority. 

If the government of the State cannot maintain itself, 
the legislature, or, if it is not in session, the executive, 
may apply to the national government for aid. If 
Congress should not be in session, the president would 
be required to judge of the emergency, and to take such 
measures as he might think best. At different times 
the United States has been called upon thus to protect 
the State governments from domestic violence. 

This is one of the most delicate and dangerous duties 
of the national executive, especially if the disturbance 
has arisen from the conflict of political parties. There 
is a jealousy of national interference in State affairs, 
that within certain limits is healthful ; but beyond these 
limits it would leave the people of the States at the 
mercy of any demagogue who could acquire a temporary 
power. But the right and the duty of the national 
government are unmistakable. Whenever any portion 
of the people of any State are unjustly deprived of 
their political rights, the whole people of the Union 
are bound to reinstate them. The safety of the whole 
Republic requires the republicanism of every part. 

But this does not imply that the national govern- 
ment shall interfere in every political quarrel by which 
the quiet of a State may be disturbed. This would be- 
little its character, and weaken its influence. The people 
of the States should be left to settle these disputes for 
themselves until the local authority is exhausted, and 
the general good requires national interference. 



APPENDIX. 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



APPENDIX. 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED 
STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 
one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected 
them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, 
the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man- 
kind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them 
to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident . that all men are created 
equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien- 
able rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness ; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted 
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the 
governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes 
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to 
abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its founda- 
tion on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as 
to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. 
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established 
should not be changed for light and transient causes ; and accord- 
ingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed 
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by 
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a 
long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it 
306 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 307 

is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and 
to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been 
the patient sufferance of these colonies ; and such is now the neces- 
sity which constrains them to alter their former systems of govern- 
ment. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a 
history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct 
object, the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. 
To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world : — 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and neces- 
sary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operations till his 
assent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly 
neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of 
large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the 
right of representation in the legislature ; a right inestimable to 
them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, 
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public 
records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance 
with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, 
with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause 
others to be elected ; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of 
annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exer- 
cise; the State remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the 
dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; for 
that purpose, obstructing the laws for the naturalization of for- 
eigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migration 
hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his 
assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure 
of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither 
swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their sub- 
stance. 



308 CIVIL GOVEKNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, with- 
out the consent of our legislature. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and 
superior to, the civil power. 

He has combined, with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction 
foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws ; 
giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : — 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any 
murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these 
States ; 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury; 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended 
offences ; 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring 
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and en- 
larging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and 
fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these 
colonies ; 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves 
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his 
protection, and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mer- 
cenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny 
already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely 
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the 
head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the 
high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the exe- 
cutioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by 
their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrection amongst us, and has en- 



THE DECLARATION OP INDEPENDENCE. 309 

deavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless 
Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished 
destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for re- 
dress, in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been 
answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose character is 
thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be 
the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. 

"We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts made by 
their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. 
"We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration 
and settlement here. "We have appealed to their native justice 
and magnanimity; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our 
common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would in- 
evitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, 
have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. "We 
must therefore acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our 
separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies 
in war, in peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of 
America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the 
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, 
do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these 
colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they 
are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all 
political connection between them and the state of Great Britain 
is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that, as free and in- 
dependent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude 
peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other 
acts and things which independent States may of right do. 
And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on 
the protection of DIVINE PROVIDENCE, we mutually pledge to 
each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 
STATES. 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, pro- 
vide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and 
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do 
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States 
of America. 

ARTICLE I. 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested 
in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a senate, 
and house of representatives. 

Sect. 2. The house of representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the several 
States ; and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State 
legislature. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained 
to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of 
the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabit- 
ant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the 
several States which may be included within this Union, according 
to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding 
to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to 
service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be 
made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of 
the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, 
in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of repre- 
310 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 311 

sentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand; but each 
State shall have at least one representative; and, until such enu- 
meration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be 
entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New 
Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, 
Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia 
three. 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, 
the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill 
such vacancies. 

The house of representatives shall choose their speaker and other 
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sect. 3. The senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, 
for six years; and each senator shall have one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
first election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into 
three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, at 
the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class, at the 
expiration of the sixth year ; so that one-third may be chosen every 
second year; and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, 
during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the 
age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

The vice-president of the United States shall be president 
of the senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally 
divided. 

The senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president 
pro tempore, in the absence of the vice-president, or when he shall 
exercise the office of president of the United States. 

The senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments ; 
when sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the president of the United States is tried, the chief justice 



312 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

• 
shall preside ; and no person shall be convicted without the con- 
currence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy 
any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the United States ; but 
the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to 
indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law. 

Sect. 4. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by 
the legislature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time, by law, 
make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing 
senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year ; and 
such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless 
they shall by law appoint a different day. 

Sect. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, 
and qualifications of its own members ; and a majority of each 
shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number 
may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel 
the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under 
such penalties, as each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish 
its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of 
two-thirds, expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from 
time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in 
their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the 
members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of 
one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any 
other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sect. 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a com- 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out 
of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases 
except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 313 

arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective 
houses, and in going to and returning from the same ; and for any 
speech or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in 
any other place. 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he 
was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of 
the United States, which shall have been created, or the emolu- 
ments whereof shall have been increased, during such time ; and 
no person holding any office under the United States shall be a 
member of either house during his continuance in office. 

Sect. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
house of representatives ; but the senate may propose or concur 
with amendments, as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the house of representatives 
and the senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the 
president of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it; 
but, if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in 
which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at 
large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such 
reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the 
bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other 
house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered ; and, if approved 
by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law.' But in all 
such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas 
and nays ; and the names of the persons voting for and against the 
bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. 
If any bill shall not be returned by the president within ten days 
(Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which 
case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the 
senate and house of representatives may be necessary (except on a 
question of adjournment), shall be presented to the president of 
the United States, and, before the same shall take effect, shall be 
approved by him; or, being disapproved by him, shall be re-passed 
by two-thirds of the senate and house of representatives, according 
to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 



314 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Sect. 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for 
the common defence and general welfare of the United States ; 
but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout 
the United States : to borrow money on the credit of the United 
States: to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among 
the several States, and with the Indian tribes: to establish an 
uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject 
of bankruptcies throughout the United States : to coin money, 
regulate the value thereof and of foreign coin, and fix the standard 
of weights and measures : to provide for the punishment of 
counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States : 
to establish post offices and post roads: to promote the prog- 
ress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited times, to 
authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries : to constitute tribunals inferior to the 
supreme court: to define and punish piracies and felonies com- 
mitted on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations : 
to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water : to raise and sup- 
port armies ; but no appropriation of money to that use shall be 
for a longer term than two years: to provide and maintain a 
navy : to make rules for the government and regulation of the 
land and naval forces : to provide for calling forth the militia 
to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel 
invasions : to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining 
the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be 
employed in the service of the United States ; reserving to the 
States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the 
authority of training the militia according to the discipline pre- 
scribed by Congress : to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases 
whatsoever over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) 
as may by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Con- 
gress, become the seat of the government of the United States ; 
and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the 
consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, 
for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other 
needful buildings : and to make all laws which shall be necessary 
and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 315 

all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of 
the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

Sect. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any 
of the States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be 
prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight ; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such 
importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
pended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
safety may require it. 

No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in propor- 
tion to the census, or enumeration, herein before directed to be 
taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

No preference shall be given, by any regulation of commerce or 
revenue, to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall 
vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or 
pay duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence 
of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and ac- 
count of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be 
published from time to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; and 
no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, 
without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolu- 
ment, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, 
or foreign state. 

Sect. 10. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con- 
federation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit 
bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in 
payment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or 
law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of 
nobility. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay 
any imposts, or duties, on imports or exports, except what may be 
absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws ; and the net 
produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or 



316 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States-, 
and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
Congress. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay- 
any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war, in time of peace, 
enter into any agreement or compact with another State or with a 
foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in 
such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President 
of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during 
the term of four years; and, together with the Vice-President, 
chosen for the same term, be elected as follows : — 

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature 
thereof may direct, a number of electors equal to the whole 
number of senators and representatives to which the State may be 
entitled in the Congress ; but no senator or representative, or per- 
son holding an office of trust or profit under the Uuited States, 
shall be appointed an elector. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by 
ballot for two persons, of whom one, at least, shall not be an inhab- 
itant of the same State with themselves: and they shall make a 
list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for 
each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, 
to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the 
president of the senate. The president of the senate shall in the 
presence of the senate, and house of representatives, open all 
the certificates; and the votes shall then be counted. The person 
having the greatest number of votes shall be the president, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; 
and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have 
an equal number of votes, then the house of representatives shall 
immediately choose by ballot one of them for president; and, if no 
person have a majority, then, from the five highest on the list, the 
said house shall, in like manner, choose the president: but, in 
choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by States, the rep- 
resentation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this 
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 317 

the States ; and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a 
choice. In every case, after the choice of the president, the person 
having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the 
vice-president. But, if there should remain two or more who have 
equal votes, the senate shall choose from them, by ballot, the vice- 
president. [See Amendments, Article XII.] 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, 
and the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall 
be the same throughout the United States. 

No person, except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the 
United States at the 'time of the adoption of this Constitution, 
shall be eligible to the office of president; neither shall any person 
be eligible to that office, who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

In case of removal of the president from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the 
said office, the same shall devolve on the vice-president; and the 
Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resig- 
nation, or inability both of the president and vice-president, de- 
claring what officer shall then act as president; and such officer 
shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a presi- 
dent shall be elected. 

The president shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished 
during the period for which he shall have been elected ; and he 
shall not receive, within that period, any other emolument from 
the United States, or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the 
following oath or affirmation : — 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute 
the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of 
my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States." 

Sect. 2. The president shall be commander-in-chief of the army 
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several 
States, when called into the actual service of the United States. 
He may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in 



318 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to 
the duties of their respective offices ; and he shall have power to 
grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, 
except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators pres- 
ent concur; and he shall nominate, and, by and with the advice 
and consent of the senate, shall appoint, ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other 
officers of the United States whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law; but 
the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior 
officers as they think proper, in the president alone, in the courts 
of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions 
which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Sect. 3. He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress infor- 
mation of the state of the Union, and recommend to their con- 
sideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and 
expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both 
houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between 
them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn 
them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive 
ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that 
the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the offi- 
cers of the United States. 

Sect. 4. The president, vice-president, and all civil officers of 
the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment 
for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and 
misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE HI. 

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be 
vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the 
Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish. The 
judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their 
offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 319 

their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished dur- 
ing their continuance in office. 

Sect. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law 
and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United 
States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their 
authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public minis- 
ters, and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdic- 
tion ; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party ; 
to controversies between two or more States ; between a State, 
and citizens of another State ; between citizens of different States ; 
between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of 
different States ; and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and 
foreign states, citizens, or subjects. [See Amendments, Article XL] 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and 
consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the supreme 
court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases 
before mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate juris- 
diction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under 
such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall 
be by jury ; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said 
crimes shall have been committed ; but, when not committed within 
any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Con- 
gress may by law have directed. 

Sect. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or 
on confession in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of 
treason ; but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, 
or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to 
the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other 



320 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

State ; and the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the man- 
ner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, 
and the effect thereof. 

Sect. 2. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other 
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, 
shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from 
which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having 
jurisdiction of the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or 
regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but 
shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service 
or labor may be due. 

Sect. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the 
jurisdiction of any other State, nor any State be formed by the 
junction of two or more States or parts of States, without the con- 
sent of the legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of the 
Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all need- 
ful rules and regulations respecting, the territory or other property 
belonging to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution 
shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United 
States or of any particular State. 

Sect. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in 
this Union a republican form of government; and shall protect 
each of them against invasion, and on application of the legisla- 
ture, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be con- 
vened), against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 821 

application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, 
shall call a convention for proposing amendments ; which, in either 
case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Con- 
stitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the 
several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the 
one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Con- 
gress ; provided, that no amendment which may be made prior to 
the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall, in any man- 
ner, affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the 
first article; and that no State, without its consent, shall be 
deprived of its equal suffrage in the senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

All debts contracted, and engagements entered into before the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United 
States under this Constitution, as under the confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall 
be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which 
shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be 
the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall 
be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any 
State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the 
members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and 
judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several 
States, shall be bound, by oath or affirmation, to support this Con- 
stitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a quali- 
fication to any office or public trust under the United States. 



ARTICLE VII. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be suffi- 
cient for the establishment of this Constitution, between the States 
so ratifying the same. 



AMENDMENTS. 



ARTICLE I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the 
freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress 
of grievances. 

ARTICLE II. 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 

ARTICLE in. 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a 
manner to be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, 
shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon prob- 
able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly de- 
scribing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
seized. 

ARTICLE V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
322 



AMENDMENTS. 323 

militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger; 
nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice 
put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled, in any 
criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of 
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall 
private property be taken for public use, without just compen- 
sation. 

ARTICLE VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to 
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and 
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which dis- 
trict shall have been previously ascertained by law; and to be in- 
formed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted 
with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for 
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance ofi 
counsel for his defence. 

ARTICLE VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved*, 
and no fact, tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined, in 
any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the 
common law. 

ARTICLE VHI. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 



ARTICLE IX. 

The enumeration, in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall 
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the 
people. 

ARTICLE X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- 
tion, nor prohibited by it, to the States, are reserved to the States 
respectively, or to the people. 



324 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

ARTICLE XI. 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted 
against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by 
citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

ARTICLE XII. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by 
ballot for president and vice-president, one of whom, at least, shall 
not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall 
name in their ballots the person voted for as president, and in 
distinct ballots the person voted for as vice-president; and they 
shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as president, and 
of all persons voted for as vice-president, and of the number of 
votes for each ; which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed 
to the president of the senate. The president of the senate shall in 
the presence of the senate, and house of representatives, open all 
the certificates ; and the votes shall then be counted ; the person 
having the greatest number of votes for president shall be the 
president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of 
electors appointed: and, if no person have such majority, then from 
the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on 
the list of those voted for as president, the house of representatives 
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the president; but, in choosing 
the president, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation 
from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and 
a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice ; and if 
the house of representatives shall not choose a president, whenever 
the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day 
of March next following, then the vice-president shall act as presi- 
dent, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability 
of the president. 

The person having the greatest number of votes as vice-presi- 
dent shall be the vice-president, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed ; and, if no person have a 



AMENDMENTS. 325 

majority, then, from the two highest numbers on the list, the 
senate shall choose the vice-president; a quorum for the purpose 
shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators; and a 
majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 

But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president 
shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States. 

ARTICLE Xni. 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except 
as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or anyplace subject 
to their jurisdiction. 

Sect. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United 
States, and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make 
or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immuni- 
ties of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive 
any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, 
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection 
of the laws. 

Sect. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States, according to their respective numbers, counting the whole 
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. 
But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of elec- 
tors for president and vice-president of the United States, repre- 
sentatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a 
State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any 
of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of 
age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, 
except for participation in rebellion or other crimes, the basis of 
representation shall be reduced in the proportion which the num- 
ber of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male 
citizens, twenty-one years of age, in such State. 

Sect. 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Con- 



326 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

gress, or elector of president and vice-president, or hold any office, 
civil or military, under the United States or under any State, who 
having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an 
officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legisla- 
ture, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support 
the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insur- 
rection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to 
the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds 
of each house remove such disability. 

Sect. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pen- 
sions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebel- 
lion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States, nor 
any State, shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in 
aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any 
claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, 
obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Sect. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce by appro- 
priate legislation the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV. 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any 
State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Sect. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 






INDEX 



INDEX. 



Absolute governments, 25. 

Actions-at-law, parties to, 189; civil, 
189, 195 ; criminal, 189, 190. 

Act of supremacy, 63 ; of uniform- 
ity, 63. 

Administration of estates, 182. 

Admiralty jurisdiction, 289. 

Admission of States to Union, 
275. 

Alaska, 274. 

Albany convention, 232. 

Aldermen, 219, 221. 

Aliens, 46. 

Anglo-Saxons, 55. 

Appeal, 192. 

Arbitration, Court of, 44 ; Board 
of, 175. 

Aristocracy, 25. 

Army of United States, 270. 

Arraignment, 191. 

Assessors of taxes, 209. 

Attachment, 196. 

Attorney-general of Mass., 168. 

Attorneys, 185. 

Auditor of Massachusetts, 167. 

Auditors in towns, 216. 

Bankrupt laws, 266. 

Bar Examiners, 175. 

Bill of Bights, English, 68, 151; of 
Massachusetts, 151. 

Board, of education, 169; of agri- 
culture, of health, 170; of in- 
sanity, of charity, 171 ; of 
arbitration, of registration, 175. 

Boroughs in England, 59. 

329 



Borrowing money, power of Con- 
gress, 264. 

Bureau of Forestry, 41. 

Cabinet officers, 284. 

California, 274. 

Carolina colonies, proprietors, 135 ; 
settlements, 135 ; grand model, 
135 ; religion, 136 ; elections, 136 ; 
royal governments, 136. 

Caucus, 227, 228. 

Census of Massachusetts, 152. 

Challenge of jurors, 194. 

Charles I., 65, 66, 71. 

Charles II., 67, 71, 84, 96, 113, 135. 

Checks upon governments, 27. 

Citizen denned, 46. 

City charter, 218 ; council, 219, 221 ; 
officers elected, 219, 220 ; solici- 
tor, 221 ; physician, 220 ; ordi- 
nances, 221. 

Civil liberty, 38, 40. 

Civil war in England, 66. 

Clerk of courts, 185. 

Clerk of towns, 208. 

Coining money in United States, 
265. 

Colonial claims, 140. 

Commerce, power of Congress con- 
cerning, 264. 

Committees of correspondence, 233. 

Committees of political parties, 227. 

Commonwealth in Great Britain, 
67, 71. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
152. 



330 



INDEX. 



Complaint, 189. 

Confederation, formation, 236 ; na- 
ture, 237; Congress, 237 ; execu- 
tive business, 238 ; finances, 238 ; 
defects, 238. 

Conferences, early colonial, 231. 

Congress, colonial, 233; continen- 
tal, 234; under the confedera- 
tion, 237. 

Congress of the United States, 247 ; 
general provisions respecting, 
251 ; quorum, 252 ; oaths, 252 ; 
•prohibitions, 252 ; sessions, 252 ; 
salary, 253 ; committees, 253 ; 
form a compromise, 254 ; powers, 
262. 

Connecticut, territory, 91 ; colony 
founded, 92 ; constitution, 92 ; 
town, 92 ; charter, 93 ; union of 
colonies, 94 ; counties, 94 ; legis- 
lation, 94 ; suffrage, 94. 

Conscientious disobedience, 47. 

Constables, 212. 

Constitution defined, 26 ; kinds, 27. 

Constitution of Massachusetts 
adopted, 150 ; how amended, 
161. 

Constitution of United States, ori- 
gin, 241 ; formation, 241 ; ratifi- 
cation, 242 ; objections, 242 ; 
objects, 243 ; amendments, 276, 
277. 

Consuls, 283. 

Convention for nominating officers, 
227 ; constitutional, 241. 

Copyrights, 268. 

Corporation defined, 200. 

Costs of court, 192. 

Council, for New England, 73, 74, 
99, 102 ; executive, in Massachu- 
setts, 165. 



Counties in Massachusetts, when 
established, 78, 199. 

County, courts in England, 55 
history of, 199 ; definition, 200 
property, 200; officers, 200 
commissioners, 201 ; treasurer, 
201. 

Court of Arbitration, 44. 

Court of Registration, 184. 

Courts in Massachusetts, supreme 
judicial, 181 ; superior, 181 ; 
probate, 182 ; police, 183 ; dis- 
trict, 183 ; justices, 184. 

Courts of United States, supreme, 
260 ; circuit, 260 ; district, 260 ; 
of claims, 261. 

Cromwell, 67. 

Dates in English history, 70. 

Declaration of Independence, 20, 
140, 144, 306. 

Declaratory resolves, 143. 

Delaware, settled, 121 ; united to 
New York, 121 ; ceded to Penn, 
122. 

Delegates from territories, 249. 

Democracy, 24. 

Department of state, 285 ; of war, 
286 ; of the treasury, 285 ; of the 
navy, 286 ; post-office, 286 ; of 
interior, 287 ; of justice, 287 ; of 
agriculture, 287. 

Departments of government, 21. 

District attorneys of Massachu- 
setts, 186 ; of United States, 261. 

District of Columbia, 272. 

District Police, 177. 

Duties of citizens, support, 46 ; 
obedience, 47 ; pecuniary sup- 
port, 47 ; defence, 48 ; voting, 
48, 49 ; revolution, 49. 

Duties on imports, 263. 



INDEX. 



331 



Education, public, 41 ; in repub- 
lics, 42. 

Edward VI., 61, 71. 

Elections in Massachusetts, time, 
220 ; records and returns, 225 ; 
certificates, 225. 

Elizabeth, Queen, 62, 64, 71. 

Eminent domain, 37. 

English, view of American claims, 
141. 

Equity jurisdiction, 288. 

Examination by justice, 193. 

Exceptions, legal, 195. 

Execution, writ of, 197. 

Executive departments in United 
States, 284. 

Expenditures controlled by Con- 
gress, 264. 

Federalist, the, 243. 

Fence-viewers, 215. 

Feudal system, 56, 72 ; abuses, 
57. 

Field-drivers, 215. 

Florida, 273. 

Forms of governments, 24. 

Freedom of speech, 33, 151 ; of 
the press, 33, 151 ; from search, 
33, 151. 

Fugitives from justice, 294 ; from 
service, 294. 

Functions of the government, 21. 

Gas Commissioners, 173. 

General Court of Massachusetts 
under charters, 82, 83, 87 ; under 
the constitution, 152; powers, 
152 ; time of assembly, 154 ; 
introduction of business, 157 ; 
conduct of business, 158. 

Georgia granted to trustees, 137 ; 
settled, 137 ; royal government, 
137. 



Government defined, 11 ; civil, 13 ; 
necessary, 16; a trust, 17. 

Governor of Massachusetts, veto 
power, 157 ; title, 162 ; choice, 
162 ; induction into office 1 , 162 ; 
powers, 162, 163 ; salary, 164. 

Habeas corpus, 34, 67, 140, 295. 

Harbor Commissioners, 173. 

Hartford Convention, 303. 

Health, security of, 33. 

Henry VII., 60, 71, 72. 

Henry VIII., 60, 61, 71. 

Highway Commission, 175. 

House of Commons, 58, 59, 65 ; 
of Lords, 59, 67 ; of Plantage- 
net, 70 ; of Lancaster and York, 
71; of Tudor, 71; of Stuart, 
71, 141 ; of Stuart and Nassau, 
71 ; of Brunswick, 71. 

House of Representatives of Mas- 
sachusetts, members, 153 ; dis- 
tricts, 153; vacancies, 153; 
quorum, 153; privileges, 153; 
money bills, 154; organization, 
154; oaths, 155; officers, 155; 
committees, 156. 

House of Representatives of United 
States, members, number, 247 ; 
choice, 247 ; apportionment, 
248 ; term, 249 ; qualifications, 
249 ; officers, 249 ; special pow- 
ers, 249. 

Impeachment defined, 197; in 
Massachusetts, subjects of, 197 ; 
process, 198; trial, 198; judg- 
ment, 198 ; in United States, 
subjects of, 278 ; mode, 279 ; 
trial, 279 ; judgment, 279. 

Independence, thought of, 143 ; 
proposed by colonies, 144; 
resolution adopted by Con- 



332 



INDEX. 



gress, 145 ; declaration adopted, 
145. 

Indian rights, 274. 

Indictment, 193. 

Inquests, 32. 

Insurance commissioner, 171, 174. 

International relations, 43 ; law, 44. 

Island possessions, 274. 

James I., 65, 71, 72. 

James II., 67, 71,85, 115. 

Judges in Massachusetts, 181 ; of 
United States courts, 261. 

Judicial department of Massachu- 
setts, 181 ; of United States, 260. 

Judicial power of United States, 
288. 

Judicial procedure, outline of, 189. 

Jurisdiction, original, 182 ; appel- 
late, 182 ; final, 191 ; initial, 
191; of United States, 288; of 
Supreme Court, 289. 

Jurors, qualifications, 187 ; sum- 
moned and drawn, 188. 

Jury, germ of, 55; trial by, 76, 
78, 151, 296; defined, 187; list 
and box, 187 ; highway, 188 ; 
grand, 193 ; petit, 194 ; charge 
to, 194 ; verdict, 195. 

Justices of the peace, 184. 

Kentucky Resolutions, 302. 

Kings of England, 56. 

Knights of the shire, 59. 

Law defined, 11 ; made by courts, 
21 ; statute, 22 ; unwritten, 22 ; 
common, 23. 

Laws, how made in Massachu- 
setts, 156 ; in Congress of United 
States, 253. 

Legislature of Massachusetts, 152. 

Letter of marque, 270. 

Libel, 33. 



Lieutenant-governor of Massachu- 
setts, 164. 

London Company, 72, 73, 130, 131. 

Long Parliament, 66, 142. 

Louisiana, 273. 

Maine, early settlements, 102 ; 
under Gorges, 102 ; relation to 
Massachusetts, 103, 104. 

Majority rule, 29. 

Mary, Queen, 62, 71. 

Maryland, charter, 124 ; assembly, 

125 ; representatives, 125 ; judi- 
ciary, 126 ; religious toleration, 

126 ; royal government, 127. 
Mason and Dixon's line, 122. 
Massachusetts, regulating act for, 

149 ; provincial congress, 150 
provisional government, 150 
adoption of constitution, 150 
bill of rights, 151 ; legislature 
152 ; publication of laws, 159 
executive department, 161 ; judi- 
ciary department, 181 ; official 
year, 226. 

Massachusetts Bay Colony, repre- 
sentatives in, 83 ; courts estab- 
lished, 83 ; towns, 83 ; legislation, 
84 ; demands of Charles II., 84 ; 
royal commissioners, 85 ; exten- 
sion of suffrage, 85 ; loss of char- 
ter, 85 ; suspension of popular 
government, 85 ; Andros, 86 ; 
revolution, 87 ; the province 
charter, 87. 

Massachusetts Bay Company, for- 
mation, 81 ; territory, 81 ; 
powers, 81 ; government, 81 ; 
transfer of charter, 82 ; free- 
men, 82. 

Mayor, 220. 

Measurers of wood, 216. 



INDEX. 



333 



Medical Examiners, 204. 

Metropolitan Commissions, 176. 

Militia denned, 177 ; of Massachu- 
setts, enrolled, 178; active, 178; 
officers, 179 ; equipments, 179 ; 
power of Congress respecting, 
271. 

Ministers, public, 282. 

Monarchy, 24. 

Municipal Court of Boston, 183. 

National and State governments, 
relation of, 297 ; source of au- 
thority, 297 ; functions, 299. 

National supremacy, 301 ; protec- 
tion, 303. 

Naturalization in United States, 
266. 

Natural liberty, 36 ; rights, 31, 36, 
38. 

Navigation acts, 142. 

Navy of United States, 271. 

New England confederacy founded, 
106 ; nature, 106 ; name, 106 ; 
commissioners, 107 ; war quo- 
tas, 107 ; powers, 107 ; articles 
adopted, 108 ; dissensions, 108 ; 
dissolution, 109 ; reformed, 109. 

New Hampshire settled, 99 ; 
united to Massachusetts, 100 ; 
made a royal province, 100 ; op- 
pressed, 100 ; reunited to Massa- 
chusetts, 101 ; final separation, 
101. 

New Haven colony founded, 92 ; 
union of towns, 93 ; united to 
Connecticut, 94. 

New Jersey settled, 116; govern- 
ment, 116 ; divided, 117 ; a royal 
province, 118. 

New Plymouth subject to England, 
72 ; granted, 72 ; settlement, 



74 ; character, 74 ; compact, 75 
freemen, 75 ; government, 76 
courts, 76 ; early legislation, 76 
towns, 76 ; representatives, 77 
revised laws*, 77 ; counties, 78 
united to Massachusetts, 79; ter- 
ritory on the Kennebec, 102. 

New York settled, 111 ; govern- 
ment by Dutch, 111 ; patroons, 
112 ; local administration, 112 ; 
conquest by English, 113 ; pro- 
prietary government, 114 ; as- 
sembly, 114 ; charter of liberties, 
115; permanent government, 115. 

Nominations in Massachusetts, 226. 

Non-intercourse association, 234. 

Norman conquest, 56 ; oppression, 
57 ; kings, 70. 

Nullification Acts, 303. 

Obligations of the government to 
secure justice, 31 ; to promote the 
general welfare, 40 ; to foster in- 
dustries, 40 ; to provide for edu- 
cation, 41 ; and general culture, 
42 ; to defend the state, 43. 

Oligarchy, 25. 

Ordinance of 1787, 273. 

Overseers of the poor, 213. 

Parliament, 27, 59, 142. 

Patents, 268. 

Patriotism, 48. 

Penalty for disobeying law, 12. 

Pennsylvania granted to Penn, 
121 ; settled, 122 ; government, 
122 ; changes in government, 
123, 124. 

Personal liberty, 31, 33 ; security, 
31. 

Petition of Right, 65, 68, 151. 

Pilgrim church, 73 ; emigration, 
73, 74. 



334 



INDEX. 



Piracy, 269. 

Plea, 191. 

Pleading, 196. 

Plymouth company, 72; colony, 
72. 

Political liberty, 29 ; duties, nature 
of, 50. 

Popular will, how expressed, 28. 

Postal communication, 267. 

President of United States, veto 
power, 253 ; term, 255 ; qualifi- 
cations, 255 ; mode of election, 
255 ; electors, 255 ; electoral 
vote, 256 ; counting votes, 256 ; 
election by house of representa- 
tives, 256 ; original mode of 
election, 257 ; vacancy in office, 

257 ; new election, 258 ; oath, 

258 ; salary, 258 ; nomination, 
259 ; powers and duties, 280 ; as 
commander-in-chief, 280 ; re- 
specting pardons, 280 ; treaties, 
280 ; appointments, 281 ; re- 
movals, 282 ; messages, 284. 

Prison commissioners, 171. 

Private property, 31, 35. 

Probate of will, 182. 

Prohibitions upon States, concern- 
ing foreign relations, 290 ; com- 
merce, 291 ; private rights, 291 ; 
freedmen, 292. 

Protestant Reformation, 61. 

Providence Plantation founded, 
94 ; early government, 95. 

Province charter of Massachusetts, 
87. 

Puritan legislation in Massachu- 
setts, 84. 

Puritans, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66. 

Railroad commissioners, 172. 

Rebellion, 50 ; Shays', 245. 



Recognizance, 190. 

Register of deeds, 202 ; of probate, 
202. 

Registration, board of, 175 ; court 
of, 184 ; of voters, 224. 

Regulating act, 149. 

Religious liberty, 35. 

Reporter of supreme judicial court, 
186. 

Republic, 24. 

Restoration of Stuarts, 67. 

Return of warrant, 190. 

Revolution, a duty, 49; in Eng- 
land, 68, 86 ; in Massachusetts, 
87. 

Rhode Island Plantation, 95 ; char- 
ter, 96 ; not in confederacy, 108. 

Right to assemble, 33, 151 ; to pe- 
tition, 33, 151 ; of suffrage, 48. 

Rotation in office, 28. 

Savings bank commissioners, 174. 

School committee, 213. 

Secretary of board of education, 
169. 

Secretary of commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, 159, 165. 

Security of life, 32 ; of travellers, 
32 ; of health, 33 ; of reputation, 
33. 

Selectmen, 209. 

Senate of Massachusetts, members, 
152 ; districts, 152 ; vacancies, 
152 ; quorum, 153 ; money bills, 
154 ; organization, 156. 

Senate of United States, members, 
number, 250 ; choice, 250 ; term, 
250 ; qualifications, 250 ; organ- 
ization, 251 ; special powers, 251. 

Separatists, 63, 64, 73, 76. 

Sergeant-at-arms in Massachu- 
setts, 156. 



INDEX. 



335 



Sheriff, 202, 203. 

Slander, 33. 

Society necessary, 15 ; duty, 17. 

Sovereigns of England, 70. 

Sovereignty, 13. 

State denned, 12 ; source of au- 
thority, 17; distinguished from 
the government, 19. 

State rights, protection of, 292. 

States, relation to each other re- 
specting public acts, 293; citi- 
zenship, 293 ; fugitives from jus- 
tice, 294. 

Statutes of Massachusetts, revi- 
sion of, 160. 

Subpoena, 191. 

Suffrage, 148. 

Summaries, 13, 18, 23, 30, 38, 44, 
50, 69, 79, 88, 98, 104, 110, 119, 
127, 138, 180, 198, 204, 217. 

Summons, 196. 

Superintendent of streets, 214. 

Support of government, 46, 47. 

Surveyors of lumber, 216. 

Tariff, 263. 

Taxation, 37 ; power of Congress, 
respecting, 262. 

Tax Commissioner, 175. 

Taxes, direct, 262; indirect, 263. 

Taxes in Massachusetts, poll, 210 ; 
property subject to, 210; prop- 
erty exempted, 210; where as- 
sessed, 210 ; how assessed, 211 ; 
collector of, 212. 

Territory of United States ceded 
by States, 273 ; purchased, 273 ; 
disposal of, 274. 

Territories organized, 274. 

Testimony in court, 191. 

Texas, 273. 

Titles of nobility, 295. 



Towns, origin, 205 ; growth of 
powers, 206; influence, 206; 
denned, 207 ; powers, 207 ; 
raising money, 207 ; meeting, 
208 ; officers, 208. 

Treason, 269. 

Treasurer and receiver-general of 
Massachusetts, 166; of towns, 
212. 

Treaties, 280. 

Trial justices, 184. 

Union, history of, 231 ; accom- 
plished, 235; under the Consti- 
tution, 243. 

Vacancies in office during recess 
of Congress, 283. 

Veto-power in Massachusetts, 
157 ; in England, 157 ; in United 
States, 253. 

Vice-President of United States, 
election, 258 ; duties, 259. 

Virginia colonized, 130 ; govern- 
ment by company, 131 ; assem- 
bly, 131 ; constitution, 132 ; 
legislation, 132 ; local govern- 
ment, 132 ; a royal province, 
133; counties, 133; aristocracy, 
133. 

Voters, 29 ; qualifications in Massa- 
chusetts, 223 ; registry of, 224. 

Voting, precincts, 218 ; manner of, 
in Massachusetts, 224. 

War, power of Congress, 270. 

Ward officers, 219. 

Wards, 218. 

Warrant, 190, 208. 

Weights and measures, sealers of, 
216 ; power of Congress respect- 
ing, 266. 

William and Mary, 68, 71. 

Writ, 196. 



APR 22 



1903 



